Dolores Janet Nast

Born: January 22, 1933: She and dad were both considered “depression era babies.”

Mom was the first of 8 children.

Naturally, she became the built-in babysitter for all her siblings.

Passed: May 29, 2024

Predeceased by:

• Her youngest brother Paul Gipple, who passed away as a very young boy,

• Her youngest son, Karl E. Nast, who passed away in 2003,

• Her husband (Dad), John A. Nast, who passed away in 2009.

Survived by:

• Her younger brother, Oliver Gipple the Third,

• Her younger sister, Dorothy Wech.

• Her oldest son, John E. Nast, and daughter, Janet M Carter

• Four grandkids, and 11 great grandkids.

How Mom and Dad met:

• She and Dad (John) met while ice skating on the Erie Canal in 1955.

• Dad was engaged to someone else, but broke up with her, gave mom those rings, and then got married 6 weeks later.

They were married for 54 years until Dad passed away.

On the down side:

Given her upbringing, Dolores never really wanted kids: She wanted a career. So as she always told her kids - up till Janet was in her 50’s - they were all forms of birth control that didn’t work, or she “should have had dogs instead of kids.”

But Jan will concede that she and Dad did the best they knew how with the examples and tools they were given.

ON the UP Side:

Dolores had a very active and purposeful life.

She was one of the very few moms who worked outside the home while raising kids.

• Dolores worked at the Nevada test site in the early 60’s as well as for the Las Vegas City Hall.

• Designed roads in Vegas (Paradise Rd, last one) and Flint, Michigan.

• Sued the Flint City Hall for a Draftsman position that was given to a man who failed the hiring exam. Mom won the suit and the job thus becoming the first women to hold that job for the city.

• She was the first female Survey Party Chief in Flint, Michigan.

• She was always taking classes…if not in person, then via mail order. (they were called “correspondence courses”)

• She eventually earned a Bachelor’s degree & then her Master’s degree at UNLV.

After moving back to Vegas, and retiring with the NV Water District,

• Dolores taught various math classes and published her own course book while taking art classes at the local Jr. college.

• She then became a math tutor and then dove into her painting full time. Our house is filled with her paintings, many of which can be seen on her website: https://doloresjnast.weebly.com/index.html )

• Much of her work was displayed in various shows up and down the west coast while becoming very active in the Las Vegas Artist Guild.

Mom’s lifelong goals:

• To live to 110

• To become a famous artist.

When Dad passed, she pretty much stopped painting.

• Then dementia started creeping in when she was in her 80’s.

• Dementia is what eventually claimed her.

Dolores’ Legacy

Mom inspired young women everywhere to understand that they could accomplish anything they wanted to, whether they chose to work inside the home as homemakers or outside the home as career women. And yes, they can have it all, as Mom did.

Many of my friends from high school agree that without knowing Mom, they probably would have made a lot of not so positive life decisions based on traditional assumed constraints for women. All those young ladies went on to have successful careers in various (traditionally male dominated) fields such as drafting and the military. That will be Mom’s legacy.

June 7, 2024

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.palmdowntownmortuary.com for the family of Dolores Janet Nast.