Remembering Our Beginnings

Mr. Charles T. Nash, C.T., as he was affectionately called, was born in Washington Court House, a city in the state of Ohio. He was the youngest of nine children, six boys and three girls. He was the product of Mr. John Irby Nash and Mary Jane Redman.

Along with two of his older brothers, C.T. moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1909. He and his brothers were following the horses in the National Stock Yards. In 1915, he married Miss Emma Edwards, a local teacher at Lincoln School. Three girls were born of this union: Claudia Mary, Fredericka Jesse, and M. Frances. In 1924, Mrs. Nash died unexpectedly. In 1929, C.T. took the marital vows again and married Miss Elizabeth Thornton of St. Louis, Missouri.

Shortly after moving to St. Louis, C.T. and his brothers became associated with the Manuel Funeral Home on Finney Avenue. This exposure to the funeral industry was the beginning of his lifelong journey in funeral service. Mr. Manuel served as a mentor and encouraged C.T. and his brothers to go to school. They graduated from the St. Louis College of Mortuary Science.

In 1913, Mr. Nash, along with his two brothers, opened the Nash Brothers Undertaking Co at 353a and 355a Broadway Avenue, East St. Louis, Illinois.

C.T.’s father, John, was a staunch supporter of the Prohibition movement and Women's Suffrage. He passed this along to his offspring. In 1917, during the East St. Louis race riot, C.T. and Mr. R.M.C. Green of RMC Green Funeral Home saved countless lives of East St. Louisans by transporting them across the Eads Bridge to St. Louis, Missouri, in covered wagons, pretending they were deceased, so that they could escape the destruction of the race riot. Many residents, once on safe ground, never returned to East St. Louis. The funeral home also received extensive damage during the riot. The funeral home relocated to 111 N. 13th St. under the new name, the C. T. Nash Funeral Home.