Nash, Dorothy

NASH (WESTERBERG), Dorothy

Dorothy Westerberg Nash, 93, passed away peacefully at home on July 4, surrounded by family.

Born in 1928 to Gustave and Hildur (Selin) Westerberg, Dorothy was the granddaughter of Swedish immigrants and was raised by her parents in Woodhaven, Queens (New York). In her teens she helped nurse her mother through serious illness and care for her younger brother. Despite these challenges, Dorothy entered Queens College on an academic scholarship, where she earned a BA in English in 1949.

She married Brooklyn native William Wray Nash, Jr., a Harvard graduate, shortly after he was drafted to serve in the Korean War, and they began their family which grew to include four children.

William and Dorothy were a true partnership. As an intellectual sounding board and gifted writer, she contributed significantly to her husband's academic achievements in a career that included his postgraduate work at the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from Harvard University, where he ultimately became a tenured professor and Chairman of the Department of City and Regional Planning. During a sabbatical from Harvard, the family spent a year in Indonesia, where William taught at the Bandung Institute of Technology and Dorothy taught sixth grade at the American school. In 1971 they moved their family to Atlanta, where William joined the faculty of Georgia State University's School of Urban Life and served for a time as Dean.

In her 50s, Dorothy founded and ran a business that purchased houses in Southwest Atlanta and restored them as affordable rentals. She nursed her husband through a protracted battle with MS while shepherding her children through college.

Dorothy and William were members of the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation on Cascade Road (Atlanta). After his death she attended St. John's Episcopal Church (College Park), where her youngest daughter and her family were active parishioners.

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, William Wray Nash, Jr. and grandson Matthew Dykstra (d. 2016). She is survived by her brother Robert Westerberg (Brentwood, NY), daughters Meryl Nash Dykstra (spouse Peter), Wendy Wray Nash (spouse William Grant Milligan), Janet Standen (spouse Donald Standen), and son Joseph Adamson Nash (spouse Katherine), as well as grandchildren David Wagner, James Dykstra, Alyson Dykstra, and Linhua Dorothy Nash, along with cherished nieces and nephews. Dorothy will be lovingly remembered by an extended family that includes the many people whose lives she touched.

A private service will be held at 1 PM Monday, July 12, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 3480 E. Main St., College Park, GA 30337. Flowers may be sent to Donehoo-Lewis Funeral Home in Hapeville, GA, and donations made in her name to St. John's Episcopal Church in College Park.

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Funeral Home Information

Donehoo-Lewis Funeral Home - Hapeville

736 South Central Avenue.

Hapeville, GA