Peter Nadash - Obituary

eter Nadash, age 80, died on May 30th from cardiac arrest. Born in New York City to Olga and Joseph Nadashkevich, he graduated from Boys High School in Brooklyn, where he built many strong friendships, and received the Lou Gehrig Award for Gentleman, Scholar and Athlete. He attended Brandeis University on a full football scholarship, where he met his future wife and life-long love, Frances (Cookie) Nadash. Upon graduation he entered the Staff Training School sponsored by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, which began a professional life-long dedication to the trade-labor movement, serving primarily low-wage workers. His first assignment was as an organizer of Mexican-American seamstresses in San Antonio, Texas. He rose through the ranks to become a business agent, a district manager, and 45 years later retired as an International Vice-President, and the Regional Director of the Upper South Department as well as a member of the union’s General Executive Board. Mr. Nadash’s assignments took him all over the country, and he believed that wherever you lived, you should be involved in the community. He was on many boards focusing on labor and health issues. He served as President of the Johnstown and Western PA Central Labor Councils and served many years on the General Executive Board of the MD Central Labor Council. He was also active in many Democratic groups, serving most recently as President of the South Anne Arundel Democratic Club. The family cars served as mobile-Democratic campaign headquarters, always stocked with an ample supply of yard signs and bumper stickers. He enjoyed golf and was an active member of the Severn Sailing Association. He also loved to travel and was fortunate to be selected to monitor overseas elections in Chile, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Representing labor, he also visited Israel, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan. Together with his wife, he traveled extensively, beginning with their honeymoon – three months of travel around post-war Europe. He was an avid reader about current affairs, arguing with anyone available about the latest political scandal, and enjoyed fixing things around the house -- whether they needed to be fixed or not. He was proud of his family and was a sweet and loving grandfather. He is survived by his wife Frances of almost 58 years; three children, Nina Nadash of New York; Daniel Nadash and his wife Amy of Davidsonville, MD; Pamela Nadash and her husband Robert Harington of Brookline, MA; 4 grandchildren, Bennett, Carson, Hugo, and Georgina; and his brother, Paul Nash of Oakton, VA. Peter's Interment is private. Please sign his online guestbook by clicking the 'sign guestbook' tab above.