Roll Call Tribute
Doyle Nash '51 April 14, 2021 1:55 PM updated: April 14, 2021 1:59 PM
Doyle Jay Nash
1930 - 2020
Doyle Jay Nash, age 90, died at his home of fifty years October 9, 2020. Born July 26, 1930 in Gorman, TX, he was the son of Homer Jay and Mittie Eldorado Warford Nash.
He was reared in Stephens County near Caddo and Eliasville, and also lived in Texas City before moving to Abilene where he graduated from Abilene High School. At Texas A&M University he majored in Industrial Engineering and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. Following graduation he served in the U.S. Army as an electronics officer in the atomic weapons program at Sandia Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico and White Sands Proving Ground.
He married Iris Sarah Toliver June 19, 1954 in San Angelo, TX. Returning to Abilene in 1955, he joined the family business, Abilene Boiler Works. The firm name was changed to ABCO Industries, Inc. and designed and marketed boilers for a worldwide market. He was named Outstanding Engineer for the Abilene chapter of the Texas Society of Professional engineers in 1987. He retired in 1995.
He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church for more than 50 years and served as Chair of the Board of Trustees and the St Paul Foundation. He served as a trustee at McMurry University for 18 years. He was a member of the Kiwanis club of Abilene for 35 years and was active in the Texas Justice League.
A lifelong enthusiasm for photography was initiated when one of the famous Clack sisters, Miss Bobbie or Miss Tommie, invited him to take pictures for an Abilene High School publication.
He enjoyed studying maps and traveled to more than thirty countries on business or with his wife for pleasure.
He was noted for his keen sense of humor and his laughter was contagious.
He was never happier than when working on a home project with one of his children.
He was a man of vision with a goal of bringing industry to Texas and he worked to enact needed judicial reforms.
He was a man of integrity, earning lasting respect as a husband, father, grandfather, employer, neighbor and friend. He stood tall in every sense of the word.
He was a man of courage, accepting adversity as inevitable in life but not being overcome by it, especially in his final difficult years.
He donated his body to medical science through the Willed Body Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. His cremated remains will be interred and memorialized at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene. Memorial may be directed to St Paul UMC or McMurry Univ.
He is survived by Iris, his wife of sixty-six years, daughter Amy Carolyn Gillespie and granddaughters Molly Jewel and Sadie Louise Gillespie, all of Austin, TX; son Timothy Doyle and wife Shannon of Cedar Park, TX and grandsons Harrison Doyle and Julian Sinclair of Austin; son-in-law David Spencer '80 of Austin and grandchildren Sarah Amanda and Bryan Grant; son Jonathan James and wife Madeline of Auckland, New Zealand and grandchildren Robert Toliver and Meadow Jameson. He was predeceased by his daughter, Holly Amanda Nash Spencer.
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1930 - 2020
Doyle Jay Nash, age 90, died at his home of fifty years October 9, 2020. Born July 26, 1930 in Gorman, TX, he was the son of Homer Jay and Mittie Eldorado Warford Nash.
He was reared in Stephens County near Caddo and Eliasville, and also lived in Texas City before moving to Abilene where he graduated from Abilene High School. At Texas A&M University he majored in Industrial Engineering and was a member of the Corps of Cadets. Following graduation he served in the U.S. Army as an electronics officer in the atomic weapons program at Sandia Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico and White Sands Proving Ground.
He married Iris Sarah Toliver June 19, 1954 in San Angelo, TX. Returning to Abilene in 1955, he joined the family business, Abilene Boiler Works. The firm name was changed to ABCO Industries, Inc. and designed and marketed boilers for a worldwide market. He was named Outstanding Engineer for the Abilene chapter of the Texas Society of Professional engineers in 1987. He retired in 1995.
He was a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church for more than 50 years and served as Chair of the Board of Trustees and the St Paul Foundation. He served as a trustee at McMurry University for 18 years. He was a member of the Kiwanis club of Abilene for 35 years and was active in the Texas Justice League.
A lifelong enthusiasm for photography was initiated when one of the famous Clack sisters, Miss Bobbie or Miss Tommie, invited him to take pictures for an Abilene High School publication.
He enjoyed studying maps and traveled to more than thirty countries on business or with his wife for pleasure.
He was noted for his keen sense of humor and his laughter was contagious.
He was never happier than when working on a home project with one of his children.
He was a man of vision with a goal of bringing industry to Texas and he worked to enact needed judicial reforms.
He was a man of integrity, earning lasting respect as a husband, father, grandfather, employer, neighbor and friend. He stood tall in every sense of the word.
He was a man of courage, accepting adversity as inevitable in life but not being overcome by it, especially in his final difficult years.
He donated his body to medical science through the Willed Body Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. His cremated remains will be interred and memorialized at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Abilene. Memorial may be directed to St Paul UMC or McMurry Univ.
He is survived by Iris, his wife of sixty-six years, daughter Amy Carolyn Gillespie and granddaughters Molly Jewel and Sadie Louise Gillespie, all of Austin, TX; son Timothy Doyle and wife Shannon of Cedar Park, TX and grandsons Harrison Doyle and Julian Sinclair of Austin; son-in-law David Spencer '80 of Austin and grandchildren Sarah Amanda and Bryan Grant; son Jonathan James and wife Madeline of Auckland, New Zealand and grandchildren Robert Toliver and Meadow Jameson. He was predeceased by his daughter, Holly Amanda Nash Spencer.
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