Polly Parsons Nash passed away peacefully on July 16 at the age of 78. Daughter of Helen Wilcox Parsons and Brackett Parsons of Wellesley Hills, MA, and sister of the late Susan Parsons of Boston, she attended Beaver Country Day School in Brookline, before attending Colby Junior College (now Colby Sawyer), where she graduated in 1955. She became a licensed Occupational Therapist upon graduation from the Tufts School of Occupational Therapy.
While waiting in line to give blood at the Massachusetts General Hospital, she met her future husband John Nash. They married in 1958 and moved to Duxbury, MA in 1959 where they raised three children. Her 56 years with John began at MGH and ended at this extraordinary institution.
After serving as an Occupational Therapist, Polly spent fourteen years teaching nursery school to Duxbury children. Following this, she worked at The Village at Duxbury, making friendships and offering cheerful and loving support to those in their later years.
Polly was also a very active community volunteer and historian. She spent countless hours with the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society lending expertise and leadership to numerous conservation and restoration projects. Most notably, she was long-term curator of the Captain Gershom Bradford House, and, as an active member of the First Parish Church led restoration initiatives which helped to preserve the historic building.
Polly loved her summers in Harpswell, ME where her family maintained a saltwater farm for almost 60 years.
She is survived by her husband John, her daughter Emily and husband Frank Hunnewell of Wellesley, her son Timothy and wife Jody Boardman Nash of Hingham, and her son Jonathan of Duxbury. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Eliza and Ben Hunnewell, Hannah, Sophie and Lucy Nash, and Isabel and Charlotte Nash.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Duxbury Rural and Historical Society to be used for upcoming preservation work at the Captain Gershom Bradford House. Simply indicate “Polly Nash – Capt. Gershom Bradford House” in the memo field. Mail to: D.R.H.S., Post Office Box 2865, Duxbury, MA 02331. Alternatively, donations may also be made in support of the Pan Mass Challenge Trust or the Palliative Care Service at MGH.
Burial will be private. A Celebration of Polly’s Life will be held at the First Parish Church of Duxbury on Wednesday, August 27 at 11:00 AM, with a reception to follow.