Nancy A. (Cochran) Lavash of Natick, formerly of Sherborn, passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2014 at the Mary Ann Morse Nursing and Rehabilitation Center of Natick. She was eighty years old.
Devoted wife of the late Richard F. Lavash, loving mother of Richard M. of Wasilla, Alaska, Jonathan R. of Salem and Andrew J. of New Braunfels, Texas.
Cherished grandmother of Marshall, Morgan, Robin and Ron. Caring sister of Judy (Cochran) Delaney of Milford, CT and Richard M. Cochran of Hull, MA. She is survived by many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Nancy grew up in Wellfleet and Sherborn, MA. She attended UMASS Amherst and married her Sherborn High School sweetheart, Richard F. Lavash, who was in Texas completing USAF fighter pilot training. She rejoined him when he was stationed at Ramstein AFB and then Hahn AFB in West Germany, where their two oldest sons were born.
Upon completion of her husband’s Air Force Service, they settled first in Holliston, where their third son was born, and then Sherborn, where she lived for forty years.
Nancy was a model of civic activity in Sherborn. She was instrumental in the creation of the Sherborn Council on Aging, the development of the Sherborn Senior Housing (Woodhaven), was active in the Sherborn Cub Scouts, the Dover-Sherborn Football Boosters, and the Sherborn July 4th Committee, in addition to working in the Sherborn Town Offices for twenty years.
She was active in politics at the local and state level, serving on the Democratic Town Committee and Democratic State Committee and worked for numerous Democratic Party candidates. She was a passionate patriot who was dedicated to progressive, liberal principles.
Nancy loved Irish music and New Orleans Dixieland jazz bands. An avid fan of Boston College football, she never missed a game, either on radio or TV. A dedicated Red Sox fan she attended the 2013 World Series and watched them win their third title in ten years.
Her annual two weeks in her beloved Martha’s Vineyard was the highlight of each year.
A more recent resident of Natick, she served as a Natick Town Meeting Member, was on the Natick Friends of the 4th of July, and worked at the Jones Pharmacy of Natick. A student of history, Nancy volunteered at the South Natick Historical Society and pursued her interest in the background of the Reverend Eliot and the “Praying Indians” of South Natick.
Visiting hours will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 from 4-7 p.m. at the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street, Natick, MA at the Natick Common.
A memorial service will be conducted on Saturday, October 11, 2014 at 11 a.m. at the First Parish Church, 11 Washington St., at the junctions of routes 16 & 27 in Sherborn, MA.
A reception will follow at the nearby Unity Hall. There will be a private, family interment ceremony at Pine Hill Cemetery in Sherborn.
To send the family a condolence please visit www.everettfuneral.com. Donations, preferably in lieu of flowers, may be made in Nancy's name to The Jimmy Fund, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445.