Hannah Nash Obituary

Nash

Hannah Michelle

Nash

March 21, 1996

January 8, 2022



The most obvious thing about Hannah Nash was also probably the least interesting: she was stunningly beautiful. Glowing skin, perfect hair. And that smile. Pictures tell the story, but Hannah's own focus was elsewhere.

She was many things -- devoted daughter, sister, lover, and friend. Guardian of animals. Compassionate health care professional. Avid outdoorswoman. Passionate about Disneyland and the color pink. Independent, but also intertwined with those she adored.

It is the smallest of comforts that when she was taken from us -- far too soon -- she with was with those she loved best doing what she loved: snowshoeing with her partner, Drake Oversen, and her constant canine companion, Valerie, in the mountains a few hours from their Colorado Springs home.

The trio was overcome by an avalanche on North Star Mountain near Hoosier Pass on January 8, 2022. She was 25.

Hannah lived her life fully. Her weekends were filled with pink and gold sunsets, high desert forests and rocky trails. She, Drake and Valerie camped, backpacked, kayaked, snowshoed and hiked as often as they could. She hated being cold, but bundled up and learned to love Colorado's snowy winters almost as much as its sunny summers.

She appreciated a good mani/pedi/facial and didn't mind kicking off her rose gold Chacos to step into a well-turned heel.

She worked as a cardio-pulmonary rehabilitation specialist at Penrose-St. Francis at Centura Health in Colorado Springs. Colleagues and patients knew and loved her as the caregiver who went the extra mile to help the neediest patients regain their strength and confidence after a cardiac event or diagnosis.

Hannah loved creatures great and small, rode horses at every opportunity and got a special kick out of feeding lettuce to the slobbery giraffes at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Her all-time animal love, unquestionably, was her rescue pitbull, Valerie. They were seldom apart and if not out and about, were most likely cuddled up on the sofa for a nap.

Hannah was a lifelong dancer. As a teenager, she created Red Light Dancing, which involved locking eyes with the driver of the adjacent vehicle and busting a move, just to make everyone laugh.

Until she fell in love with Drake, she followed a strict vegan diet. But they both loved great food and she slowly expanded her intake to include cheese, some chicken, and, occasionally, a little bacon. During the early COVID-19 lockdown, she encouraged Drake to begin his quest to craft the perfect pizza. She made "Drake's Quarantizza" boxes and delivered steaming and, yes, perfect pizzas to friends. It quickly became a shared passion and pop-up business.

Hannah loved her family and friends wholeheartedly. No surprise, the world loved her back.

Hannah is survived by her parents, Mike and Paula Nash, of Aurora, Illinois; her sister, Morgan Nash, of Chicago, Illinois; grandmothers, Marcia Duvick, of North Aurora, and Betty Nash, of Aurora, Illinois; aunts and uncles, Chris and Kathy Duvick, Diana and Randy Fichtel, Bobbie and Dick Soris, and Barb and Rick Baker; many cousins; many, many friends; and her Great Dane, Franky.

She and Drake had already booked their flight to celebrate Grandma Betty's 90th birthday with her at the end of January

She is preceded in death by her grandfathers, Ken Duvick and Tom Nash, and her Great Dane, Cove.

She graduated from Aurora Central Catholic High School and matriculated to Arizona State University, where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in exercise physiology. She held the American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Physiologist and the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine (focused on reversing heart disease) certifications. At the time of her passing, she was preparing to pursue a graduate degree and become a physician assistant with a concentration in dermatology.

Her parents, Mike and Paula and sister, Morgan joined Drake's father, Jeff Oversen and his brother and sister-in-law, Spencer and Alaina Oversen in a celebration of their beautiful lives along with family and the trio's many Colorado Springs friends on Friday, January 14. They will commemorate her again in the Chicago area later this year.

Her family asks that those who want to honor her do so with a donation to

Summit County Rescue Group, www.scrg.org, which assembled the team of more than 60 volunteers that located Hannah, Drake and Valerie.Summit County Animal Control and Shelter, www.summitcountyco.gov/538/animal-control-shelter, which treated Valerie's remains with the gentleness and respect Hannah would have wanted.