NASH, TONY RAY, 69 , went to be with the Lord on April 8, 2023 after a 10 year battle with cancer.  He was a beloved husband, friend, father and Papa to those who knew him.  Tony was born April 8, 1954 in Salem, MO to Jerry and Geraldine Nash.   After working several years in construction, Tony worked at Beech Aircraft from 1980 to 2014.  He is survived by his wife, Pam (Andover), children Kerri (Michael) of Derby, Kyle (Karissa) of Andover, six grandchildren (Madison, Raegen, Kennedy, Michael, Sylas and Ember), Brother Jerry (Cheryl), sister Marsha and many loving aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

P assed before him, Father Jerry Nash, Mother Geraldine Moore, brothers Bob, Gilbert and Kevin and sister, Kathy.

V isitation with the family present will be held on St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church, 123 N. Andover Rd., Andover on April 13, 2023 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass will then be held on Friday, April 14, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. with Rosary before also at St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church. Tony will be interred in Bruno Township Cemetery on North Andover Rd. in Andover.

M emorial Donations may be made in Tony's memory to St. Jude Memorial, 501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN 38105-9959.

Tony & Pam met "dragging main" in Harper, KS in 1975. They married 2 years later in Salina, KS. At that time, Tony worked construction, framing houses, and after living in Tulsa, Ok & Rolla, Mo, they settled in Wichita in 1980 when Tony was hired at Beech Aircraft. Tony's first job was in the stretch press area then moving to the King Air line installing cargo doors. In 1982 he moved into Fatigue and Structural Test out in B40. He worked there until transitioning into Engr running the mylar plotters, archiving older model aircraft dwgs and many other duties. After leaving Textron Aviation in 2014, he started a handyman business with Ron Cummings and enjoyed that so much while his health allowed.

He played softball on the company league, The Beechcrafters, and enjoyed so many nights at the softball field until Security would come out and turn the lights out on us & sometimes even that didn't run us off.

Pam & Tony had 2 kids Kerri and Kyle; even though Tony didn't have the happiest childhood or positive father figure, he did the very best he could to support his kids in every way.

He coached both kids in soccer, basketball or baseball/softball, if not coaching attended every practice and game. Over the years Tony touched many young people's lives. The middle school band concerts and choir concerts were not his favorite. He always made time for his family, enjoying many vacations with them & friends. When the kids were younger, the float trips to Oklahoma, ski trips, and spending time on the Lake of the Ozarks were some of his fondest memories.

Tony loved his tennis shoes (anybody a size 9? There are so many tennis shoes), then there are his many ball caps (Kyle & Kerri get first pick), trucks & motorcycles. He bought his 1 ^st Harley Davidson in 2006 and then joined the Beechcraft Drifters Motorcycle Club. When asked to run for President of the Drifters, he said he wasn't the "social type". Everyone who knew Tony knew that wasn't true!!!

Pam & Tony had so many fabulous trips to Sturgis, Fayetteville (for Bike, Blues and BBQ), many local rides & poker runs. He made some deep friendships (too many to name) and great memories with his motorcycle club family. Tony was usually always the leader on bike trips; he was a great one too. Tony never rode the speed limit (at least 5 over) but he figured as long as everyone knew the next pit stop, we'd gather up there. No one usually complained because they knew if they did then THEY WOULD BECOME THE LEADER!! He tried not to make too many U-turns!! And that's how he taught Pam to ride --- Tony & Pam enjoyed riding thousands of miles together across the US; from their trip to New Orleans in 2015 and Myrtle Beach in 2018. It took us a while to figure out that many in the motorcycle club liked camping so we spent many weekends together sitting around the campfire including kids & grandkids making so many more memories.

When Tony wasn't strong enough to enjoy his motorcycle riding, they bought a 1966 Mustang named Mable & joined the Mulvane Marauders & D-Dudes Car clubs. He continued to make so many new friends. Tony so enjoyed working on his car with Ron and going to car shows with Ron, John, Tim & Earl. It was even more fun to win trophies!

Tony loved his grand kids ---- Their daughter Kerri & her husband Michael have 4 kids who knew Tony as Papa: Madison Rae was the 1 ^st born grandchild and this is when he realized how deeply you love your grand children. Several months ago, Kerri asked Tony to write what he would put at the bottom of a birthday card. Then in January Kerri & and her oldest daughter, Madison, surprised Tony with tattoos in his handwriting LOVE YOU ALWAYS DAD and LOVE YOU ALWAYS PAPA – needless to say that was very emotional.

Then came Raegen, Kennedy, and Michael and he loved them all.

Our son Kyle & his wife Karissa have 2 kids. Sylas Rae who is now 5 and his little sister Ember Rayne who is 6 mo old. Tony loved Sylas' company so much and Ember's smiles & giggles. Tony so enjoyed visiting Kyle at work when he was having a "good" day. Kyle & Karissa recently purchased a house 2 doors down from Tony & Pam which Pam says is a "God thing" which will make life easier for her going forward. Tony loved his children & grandchildren so much & would do anything for them.

Tony joined the Catholic church 7 yrs ago and Pam never thought that would happen but that was another "God thing". Tony didn't want to just be a member but wanted to become active in the church so he joined the Knights of Columbus, signed up to be a eucharistic minister and usher. His faith ran deep which helped him through his battle with cancer. Over the years, No matter how horrible the medication made him feel or towards the end, no matter how bad the pain, he always Thanked Pam for everything she did for him and tried to make each day the best it could be. He greatly appreciated Pam caring for him the last few months of his life and expressed it often. Tony & Pam were best friends, with Pam almost being late to work sometimes just "visiting" with Tony in the mornings. If the turkeys were out on 159 ^th St Pam would have to tell "somebody" because they were so beautiful so who did she call . . . . Tony was her somebody.

They LIVED with cancer --- Tony refused to stop living. They took advantage of every GOOD day & with absolutely NO regrets. He fought that horrible disease for 10 yrs and he passed on his terms on his birthday. He will be greatly missed but he is with the Lord and the pain is gone and we will be with him again.

As I mourned the passing of my uncle, I went onto Tony's Facebook page and looked back, way back, to 2019 when Tony posted the following, "On the Day I Die". It must have touched him to post it so I want to share it with you today:

On the Day I Die

By JOHN PAVLOVITZ

On the day I die a lot will happen.

A lot will change.

The world will be busy.

On the day I die, all the important appointments I made will be left unattended.

The many plans I had yet to complete will remain forever undone.

The calendar that ruled so many of my days will now be irrelevant to me.

All the material things I so chased and guarded and treasured will be left in the hands of others to care for or to discard.

The words of my critics which so burdened me will cease to sting or capture anymore. They will be unable to touch me.

The arguments I believed I'd won here will not serve me or bring me any satisfaction or solace.

All my noisy incoming notifications and texts and calls will go unanswered. Their great urgency will be quieted.

My many nagging regrets will all be resigned to the past, where they should have always been anyway.

Every superficial worry about my body that I ever labored over; about my waistline or hairline or frown lines, will fade away.

My carefully crafted image, the one I worked so hard to shape for others here, will be left to them to complete anyway.

The sterling reputation I once struggled so greatly to maintain will be of little concern for me anymore.

All the small and large anxieties that stole sleep from me each night will be rendered powerless.

The deep and towering mysteries about life and death that so consumed my mind will finally be clarified in a way that they could never be before while I lived.

These things will certainly all be true on the day that I die.

Yet for as much as will happen on that day, one more thing that will happen.

On the day I die, the few people who really know and truly love me will grieve deeply.

They will feel a void.

They will feel cheated.

They will not feel ready.

They will feel as though a part of them has died as well.

And on that day, more than anything in the world they will want more time with me.

I know this from those I love and grieve over.

And so knowing this, while I am still alive I'll try to remember that my time with them is finite and fleeting and so very precious—and I'll do my best not to waste a second of it.

I'll try not to squander a priceless moment worrying about all the other things that will happen on the day I die, because many of those things are either not my concern or beyond my control.

Friends, those other things have an insidious way of keeping you from living even as you live; vying for your attention, competing for your affections.

They rob you of the joy of this unrepeatable, uncontainable, ever-evaporating Now with those who love you and want only to share it with you.

Don't miss the chance to dance with them while you can.

It's easy to waste so much daylight in the days before you die.

Don't let your life be stolen every day, by all that you've been led to believe matters, because on the day you die—the fact is that much of it simply won't.

Yes, you and I will die one day.

But before that day comes: let us live.

Pam wants to thank all of their family, friends and coworkers for your support during these very difficult times. Because of all of you, Tony wasn't worried about Pam moving forward after his passing.

Thank you all for coming and please keep Pam and family in your prayers.