Dick was born Sept. 28, 1929, in Baltimore to Richard and Louise Daly Nash.
A Gilman graduate, he earned a bachelor’s degree in basic engineering at Princeton, where he belonged to the “21” Club and Ivy, was vice chairman of the class memorial-fund committee, and roomed with Bob Akeley, George Buell, Jim Gorter, and Bill Griffith. Thereafter he served as a flight-deck officer on the USS Oriskany and the USS Princeton.
Dick and Sherrill Gray were married May 5, 1956. Initially, he worked for the Glidden Co. In 1965 he joined Maryland Specialty Wire, a subsidiary of Handy & Harman, as works manager, and in 1969 he was appointed general manager. In 1972 he was elected chairman of the board and president.
An avid boater, he sailed on Chesapeake Bay and in Martha’s Vineyard waters. He was a member of the Elkridge Club.
Dick died Jan. 11, 2012, of heart failure in Naples, Fla. He is survived by Sherrill; daughters Abigail Keller and Lydia Weiss; three grandchildren; and his sister, Kate Chittenden. His infant son, Richard Nash III; his daughter, Kate Boone; and brother Joseph Sarsfield Sweeney predeceased him. Services were held at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore.