Children’s advocate Dr. Helen Nash, a beloved pediatrician who broke through racial barriers in the St. Louis medical community in the 1940s, passed away at her home Thursday, October 4 at the age of 91.
During her 45-year practice, she provided health care to generations of St. Louis children.
Helen Nash was born August 8, 1921, in Atlanta, Georgia, the third of six children. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College in Atlanta in 1942 and graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee in 1945. Nash completed her internship and pediatric residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, where she served as chief resident.
Dr. Nash is survived by her brother, Dr. Homer E. Nash, Jr., sister, Mrs. Dorothy Shack, nieces, Cheryl Chisholm, Terrell Mann (Steve), Karen Reynolds (Stanley), Sherry Heard, Lauren Nash Ming (Leo), Dr. Alison Nash (Clarence Dula), and Tracey Nash-Huntley (David Huntley); nephew, Hailu Shack, fifteen grand nieces and nephews; two great-grand nieces; friend and caregiver, Ethel Ellis; former office staff members and a host of other friends and associates.
A memorial service for Dr. Helen Nash will be held on Saturday, October 27, at 2:00 p.m. at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 5010 Terry Avenue in St. Louis.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Louis Symphony, the Missouri Botanical Garden or the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation.
