Branch Come Home Year

August 9-19, 2007

A Tribute to Uncle Mike Nash

By: Loretta Corcoran

 

 

On May 4, 2005, we bid a sad and tearful farewell to our loving Uncle Michael Nash.  He was a caring father, devoted husband, special grandfather and respected brother and uncle.  We are grateful to God for giving us the opportunity to share in Mike’s life, and for the fond memories of him that we will always cherish.

 

First and foremost in our minds is the great love he had for his wife Helen.  Throughout his life he was totally devoted to her.  The gentle love he showed his children Monica and Gordon will remain his legacy to them.  His love for his brothers and sisters is a legacy more valuable than material possessions.  Even after he left Newfoundland to live in Ontario, he was there for them, rejoicing in their happiness and being a stronghold in times of sorrow.  His extra special love for his grandchildren Zach and Celine was the high point of his life.

 

Uncle Mike was a great story teller.  How I remember his stories of living in Beckford, playing on the beach of Beckford or in the Sand Gardens with his brothers and sisters.  He had such a close bond with his family.  I can never recall a time when there wasn’t laughter surrounding him.  I think he had a story for every person who lived in Branch.  He always bragged that “he was the strongest man who ever grew up in Branch”.  How I remember him telling the story of walking from Neil Power’s store in Branch to Beckford carrying a sack of flour and a sack of sugar on his shoulders plus a sack of potatoes and a barrel of molasses under his arms. Yes indeed, that was strength.

 

He was also a great singer.  He loved to make up songs about living in Beckford.  How I wish now all of these songs had been written down.  I think everyone in our family got the tapes that he always loved to send home.   Helen tells us that he would sit in his room in Brampton, Ontario and make these tapes using an old tape recorder and probably strumming his grand son Zach’s toy guitar while he sang.  And oh the stories.  How you made us laugh.

 

Every summer for his last fifteen years, he and Helen traveled back to Newfoundland.  Oh what a time we all had together on those visits home.  He was so funny.  Just thinking of a joke he told, can still make us laugh. He was quite a character.

 

Mike became sick with cancer in 2004 and as was his fondest wish, he came home to Newfoundland to spend his last months with his family and close friends.  All of his friends came to be with him during those last months.  Even then, in spite of his illness, he still managed to keep everyone laughing.  In fact, he told us a joke an hour before he died.  And as was his wish, we buried him in his beloved Branch.

 

We miss you everyday Uncle Mike.  You left us a legacy of love and respect.  You showed us the true meaning of family and taught us to laugh even in our darkest hours.

 

This is the essence of the man who was Mike Nash.  The likes of you will never be here again.   We are all richer for having known you.

 

“GONE FROM OUR LIVES, BUT ALWAYS IN OUR HEARTS”