James Rex Nash

James Rex Nash, age 67, of Winnabow died unexpectedly from a heart attack Saturday, December 10, 2016 at his home. Rex was born on January 25, 1949 in Greenville, SC. He was the only child of the late James T. Nash and Nesbeth Moon Nash Crenshaw. Rex grew up in Greenville, SC and was set to graduate from JS Mann High School in Greenville, until his father’s job transfer to Charleston, SC his senior year meant a move and graduation from R.B. Stall High School in Charleston, SC in 1967.

Immediately upon graduation, Rex enlisted in the U.S. Army and served from October 1967 to October 1970. Rex served two tours in Vietnam and was a Paratrooper assigned to the 173rd Airborne Division in Vietnam and the 82nd Airborne Division upon his return stateside. He finished his military service at the rank of Sergeant. He was very proud to be Army Airborne and serve his country.

After his military service, Rex attended and graduated from Horry-Georgetown Community College with a degree in Forestry. Fresh out of forestry school, he accepted a job with International Paper in Wilmington, NC. During his 16 year career with IP, as a Forester, he managed thousands of acres of timber in North and South Carolina and was the Fire Boss for IP on many of their big forest fires including the 1985 Holly Shelter Fire that burned nearly 93,000 acres.

In 1989 Rex started his own company, Brunswick Timber as a timber broker. In 1997 he attained his NC Registered Forester designation and founded Timberland Management where he developed customized timber management plans until his retirement in 2009. He was also a NC Real Estate broker.

Through the years, Rex had many hobbies and interests. He was an avid sportsman keeping detailed hunting journals which contained weather and hunting conditions. He enjoyed training bird dogs and Labrador Retrievers, with his most recent trainee being Mattie. He restored cars and vintage John Deere tractors. He loved sports cars, and through the years, he owned Corvettes including a 1968 L88, a Porsche 911, and his favorite, a gold 1969 Z28 Camaro. He enjoyed playing golf, woodworking, scuba diving, reading especially history related books, working crossword puzzles, and watching TV. He enjoyed following the Panthers, the Tarheels, and more recently the ECU Pirates with Taylor being a student there. Rex became an ordained deacon in 2009.

He is survived by his wife, Debbie Bowling Nash, and daughter, Taylor LeAnn Nash who is a senior at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, December 15, 2016 at one o’clock in the afternoon at the White Funeral and Cremation Service Chapel 603 Ocean Hwy. E. Bolivia, NC 28422. An interment service will follow in the Robbins Cemetery George II Hwy. Bolivia, NC.

Pallbearers will be Terry Zacker, Earl Chronister, David Huffine, H.C. Johnston, Tommy Gore, and Kenny Scott. Honorary Pallbearers will be brother-in-law’s Sandy Tyner, Gary Bowling, and Tim Shipston.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from twelve o’clock noon until one o’ clock on Thursday, December 15, 2016 prior to the service.

White Funeral & Cremation Service 603 Ocean Hwy E. Bolivia, N.C. 28422