Barbara Nash proud to carry on family connection

Working and living in Lawrence at the time, Barbara Nash had heard of the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, but that was it.

Until she met Bob Nash.

That was in 1977. Some friends set them up on a blind date. “It did not go well,” Barbara said.

Fortunately, there was a second date.

“I am a rabid Jayhawk fan and the second date was a KU-K-State basketball game. KU won. There’s no way it could have possibly not gone well,” Barbara said.

The couple was married two years later.

 “We were together a long time, almost 40 years,” Barbara said of her late husband.

During that time, she learned a lot about Bob’s family, his parents Bert and Ruth, who both had passed away, and his older sister, Barbara Nash Mills, who lives in California. She also learned about the community mental health center that was named for Bob’s father, Dr. Bert Nash. The Bert Nash Center will celebrate its 70th anniversary on July 5th.

“Bob talked often about his parents,” Barbara Nash said. “Bob was proud of the work his father did, but he was a shy person. He didn’t want the emphasis placed on him. He wanted the focus on the Center.”

Bob Nash, a retired psychiatrist, died unexpectedly in 2016.

“He was an extraordinary human being,” Barbara said. “I was lucky enough to be Bob’s wife. I miss him so much.”

In Bob’s absence, Barbara has carried on the family connection to the Bert Nash Center, serving on the Endowment Board.

“I’m honored to be part of this wonderful organization,” Barbara said. “It keeps me connected to Bob. I think he would be pleased that I wanted to continue something that was important to him. He loved the Center. I’m so proud to be a Nash and to carry on that name.”