Neil's obituaries

From The New York Times

NASH -- Cornelius C.

Neil Nash, 48, died on September 9 after years of a heroic battle with brain cancer. Neil's legacy is one of kindness and inspiration in the face of his battle. For the past 16 years Neil fought and triumphed over numerous run-ins with the disease, constantly turning the medical community on its head while keeping his own. Neil was a real New Yorker and lived in Manhattan most of his life. He loved the city and was often the very embodiment of its struggles and triumphs. As a close friend states, "A big part New York City's beauty is that it often feels so fragile and so grand at the same time. Neil Nash was the same; he was always grand and epic even during the hardest times." For the last 10 years he was an acclaimed project manager who oversaw a wide array of projects in New York and throughout the U.S. Neil helped manage several large institutional restoration projects after hurricane Katrina, as well as building high-end residential projects throughout New York City and a prominent soup kitchen and social services agency in Brooklyn. A statement from close friends reads, "No matter what Neil was going through personally he always maintained an optimism and willingness to help others, laugh out loud, and be the most stylish guy in the room. His sense of humor, rigorous honesty, and openness always made Neil a magnet for great conversations and connection with everyone he encountered." Cornelius is mourned by his wife Martha Brophy, his children Jedidiah and Campbell, his sister Juliana Nash Stenerson, his mother, Juliana vanderVloed Nash, and a huge family and circle of friends too numerous to mention.

From The East Hampton Star

Cornelius Campbell Nash, 48

Surrounded by family and friends, Cornelius C. Nash died at home in New York City on Sept. 9. Mr. Nash, who was 48, had been diagnosed with brain cancer in 1993.

“Being a father” was his most heartfelt achievement, his family said. Jedadiah and Campbell C. Nash are his 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter.

He is also survived by his wife, Martha Brophy of New York City, his sister, Juliana Nash Stenerson of Amagansett, his mother, Juliana van der Vloed Nash of New York City and Amagansett, and by a niece and a nephew.

Although he was a consummate New Yorker, Mr. Nash had spent summers in Amagansett since his early teens and “loved Indian Wells Beach more than anything.” As an adolescent he enjoyed surfing and “hanging out with his herd of friends” there.

Around that time he helped his parents renovate Moose Brown’s old house next to the American Legion Hall on Montauk Highway, which they had bought in 1976. He also spent a couple of years in Miami Beach, where he worked as a partner in a fine-cabinetry company.

Mr. Nash went on to become a project manager for D.B.I., overseeing a wide array of endeavors in New York City and throughout the United States. He helped manage large institutional restoration projects after Hurricane Katrina and worked on luxury residential projects in New York City.

He had also been an event planner for James McNabb Associates; his last job with that company involved doing work during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

He was born on May 1, 1961, in New York City. His father was James C. Nash, who died in 1998. He attended Stuy­vesant High School in Manhattan as well as the University of Rhode Island, where he was on the crew team, and the City University of New York at Hunter College.

He and Martha Brophy were married on Oct. 17, 1992, the year before his cancer, a pineal blastoma, was diagnosed. His doctor did not expect him to live even a few months, but his condition was stabilized for 10 years.

“Neil was like a tall oak — sturdy, strong, upright, resilient,” his family said, as well as “intelligent, rational, egalitarian.”

Funeral arrangements were private. Donations have been suggested to the pediatric brain tumor unit at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, P.O. Box 27106, New York 10087-7106.

Thanks, Neilwaukee.