Ada Eloise Nash

When Mum asked me to speak today, I was extremely honoured and thought wow Nan was such an amazing woman how am I going to do her justice. I could tell you about all her achievements as a child, where she was born, her sisters and brother who always held a special place in her heart. Her love of gardening, and as Allison has reminded me, her love and wide collection of shoes, guess that explains the love of shoes, Allison, Monique and I have. I could tell you about the full and wonderful life she led. Those are all amazing things and shouldn’t be forgotten. But to celebrate Nans life I wanted to share with you some of the stories that bought a smile to our faces as we reminisced around Mum’s kitchen table after Nan had passed. A lot of our memories are of Nans cooking and the amazing smells that would come from her kitchen. As we all know Nan loved to get up early in the morning and the smell of something cooking would always make us get out of bed to see what was on the stove, I would say that 9 out of 10 times we would find something amazing, the tenth time was usually when she was treating herself to some tripe, on those mornings I told her I would be going to a friends after school or later in my life that I was working late. I loved Nan’s cooking but couldn’t bring myself to eat the tripe. Mum told us how my grandfather thought Nan made the best apple pies. He would rave about them and always wanted Nan to make him one, that was until he walked into the kitchen one day to find her cutting up choccos to make the “apple pie”. Lets just say after that day, he didn't request to many more of Nan's “apple pies”. Allisons favourite memory was how Nan being an early riser, would always get up and make pikelets for her and Prue when they had had a sleepover. She can always remember waking up and smelling them cooking. Once again another memory of Nans great cooking. Ian told us how he will always remember that every time we would visit Nan she would have a job for him to do, it was either changing a light globe or fixing the blind in her room, which she would pull down to far. I think she sometimes did this on purpose if she didn't have anything for him to do. Of all the jobs Ian did for Nan, the best one was when she had lost one of her rings in the bedroom, Ian went into the bedroom determined not to come out until he had found the ring, well after what seemed like an eternity, Ian emerged with the ring on his pinkie finger, and the look of gratitude on her face when he handed it back to her is one I think he will never forget. My kids, Mitchell and Monique, will always remember going to Nan's every Wednesday to spend the day with her and have dinner. They also remember the birthdays they shared with Nan and all the phone calls prior to their birthday dinner making plans for the food and the cake that would be eaten on the night. Nan always made a huge deal of her great grandchildrens birthdays and made them feel extra special on that day. It is a memory they will always have and cherish. I’m sure my cousins, Paul and Cathy will remember going out onto the rock and making mud pies on her bbq. We would spend hours out there getting messy and having fun while under the watchful eye of Nan from the kitchen window. This was one of our favourite things to do, and we all enjoyed it until Paul and I made Cathy eat one of our wounderful creations, after that Cathy didn’t like that game anymore. My memories of Nan are so many I could talk all day. I can thank Nan for my love of tennis and AFL, as a kid I used to love sitting with her watching sport and listening to her explain the rules to me. But my most special memory of Nan was my wedding day, the amazing cup of tea she made me in the early hours of the morning, the wonderful chat we had that day while the house was still quiet, the wonderful wedding cake, my veil, the flowers, and Allisons bridesmaid dress all made by Nan. She was an exceptionally talented women and much to her dismay Mum Allison and I have trouble even putting a button on, but I must say I can decorate a mighty fine cake, thanks to her. To my Mum, you were the best daughter a mother could hope for. You were always there for Nan and were with her until the very end so she wasnt alone. Even though she couldn’t tell you I know that she appreciated every single thing that you did for her and you can hold your head up high knowing that you did everything possible. To Monique and Mitchell in the past week you have both shown amazing strength and maturity beyond your years. Nan would be very proud of the young adults you have become. To my husband Ian, thankyou for being my monolith. These are just some of the memories that made Nan special to us. There are so many more and I’m sure you have some of your own, hopefully these happy memories will help all of us bring a smile to our faces.