E. Melvin Nash of Brookline, MA passed away suddenly on October 17, 2020. A force until the end, he was a loving, dedicated, and entertaining patriarch, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, businessman, attorney, life-long student, teacher and friend. He will be remembered as overcoming many obstacles in his life with resilience and a positive attitude.
Never shy with his opinions, he loved every opportunity to speak in front of an audience whether at a family event or in a courtroom. He loved listening to music, NPR, Patriots games and the chiming of his clocks. He also loved whistling, all dogs, Radio Shack and talking on the phone.
Mel contracted meningitis at the age of 11, which left him blind. Despite his loss of sight, he returned to his 5th grade class and began his lifelong journey of refusing to let his blindness get in the way of any of his dreams or aspirations.
Born in Pittsfield, MA, Mel graduated from Pittsfield High School in 1951. He was a member of the Brandeis University Class of 1955 which he proudly boasted was the fourth graduating class at Brandeis. While at Brandeis, Mel was the Senior Manager of the school’s varsity basketball team and was a letterman. His friendships from his time at Brandeis lasted a lifetime. He was a longtime supporter of Brandeis University and the Brandeis University Friends of Athletics Department. He was inducted into the Brandeis Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018. He was the recipient of the Charlie Napoli Distinguished Achievement Award and the Sid Goldfader Award of Valor.
After graduating from Brandeis, Mel began working with his father, A. Leo Nash, and his brother, Ken Nash, at A. Leo Nash Steel Corporation, later known as Alnasco, where he served as treasurer.
After 23 years in the steel fabricating business, Mel, at the age of 44, enrolled in Boston College Law School from which he graduated in 1982. He successfully navigated law school as a blind person and served as a mentor and role model to other visually impaired individuals. An early adopter of assistive technology, Mel was constantly looking for new ways to take the issue of being blind off the table for himself and for his peers.
After law school, with his beloved first guide dog, Brandy, at his side, Mel began his more than 30-year career as a construction attorney representing many of his previous clients and former competitors from his days in the construction business.
While in practice, Mel was an adjunct professor of construction law at Boston College Law School, Suffolk University Law School and Boston Architectural Center.
As an attorney and visually impaired person, Mel was a constant advocate for those with disabilities and consistently showed zero tolerance for people and companies that failed to practice the level of inclusion that he felt was appropriate.
In 1983, Mel met and later married Susan (Collins) who has been his best friend and loving companion for 37 years.
Mel is pre-deceased by his parents, A. Leo and Libby (Slosman) Nash, his brother Ken, his four guide dogs, Brandy, Rindy, Jenner and Gilbert. He is survived by his wife, Susan; and his children Mike (Carolyn), Drew (Aimee), Allison (Elliot), DJ (Youngmi) and Josh (Erica), 14 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren, his sister-in-law, Suzanne Nash, and three nephews, Seth, Mitchell and Leo, who were like sons to him in addition to a wide extended family.
Due to Covid-19 concerns, the services will be private with only immediate family.
Donations in his memory may be made to The Seeing Eye, Inc. at www.seeingeye.org or via their mailing address: The Seeing Eye, P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 or Friends of Brandeis Athletics at https://www.brandeisjudges.com or Brandeis University, Attn: Friends of Brandeis Athletics, 415 South Street, 02426, Waltham, MA 02453
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