Gilbert John Nash, 91, passed away peacefully at home on November 3, 2020, after a brave battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Arlene Nash, and his children Karen Nash, Julie (Manuel) Nash-Santos, Nancy (Tom) Nash-Rees, Ken (Janet) Nash and Russell (Megan) Nash. He had a large, loving family that also consisted of 11 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren and many other nephews and nieces.

Gil was born on September 24, 1929 in Seattle. The son of John and Elsie Nash, he graduated from Ballard High School in 1947 where and he and his two brothers (Bill and Jerry) attended. Gil and Jerry played basketball and were the first cheer kings for Ballard High School.

After high school he joined the Naval Reserves and soon after, attended the University of Washington earning a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Gil was a lifelong Huskies fan, especially football, attending many games for over 65 years. He worked at Boeing as an engineer for 33 years in many areas including Maintenance & Ground Operations and Customer Support. He was able to travel the world and enjoy so many fascinating experiences from several countries in Europe, Korea, China, Philippines, Hong Kong, South America and the Middle East.

Gil’s interests were many and included boating with his family and friends in the San Juan Islands, hiking, golfing and especially enjoyed time at his vacation home on Lopez Island. He lived in the Edmonds area for over 60 years and was always busy either working, playing or chasing around his 5 kids. He enjoyed walking the Edmonds waterfront 3 times a week with friends and family for the “Beer Walk” ritual.

Gil will be remembered as curious, family orientated, active, smart, logical and funny.

He had a lot of fun over the years and he will be greatly missed by anyone who knew him.

A poem written by Gilbert in 1976 regarding his immortality and wish to be cremated:

Will Power

A third of me to the sea
A third to the mountains high
A third to where my family desires
Under a stone looking up to the sky?
If after the excursion of heaven above
The almighty is not to be found
I should hope that reincarnation occurs
As a seagull around Puget Sound.

There will be no services due to the COVID pandemic.