Miri Nash, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on February 16, her 79th birthday, in Palm Desert, California. After an active life, she suffered a short illness and spent her last days with her family.
Miri was born in Poland to Marian Mundt and Donna Mundt, her father a dentist and her mother a Certified Public Accountant. Her father had escaped the Holocaust by fighting in the Russian army; her mother survived the Warsaw Ghetto and was hidden by righteous gentiles. Her parents took the unusual step of moving back to Poland at the end of the war to find relatives who had survived. The family subsequently emigrated, first to Israel, then to Chicago, where Miri attended high school and college. In Chicago, Miri met her first husband, Yehuda Nacson, with whom she moved to Montreal and started a family with three children. After a decade of enduring Montreal winters, they escaped to Los Angeles and California became Miri’s home.
In Los Angeles, Miri began a career in public relations that would sustain her through her working days. Her most fulfilling role was supporting the cause of Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, a nonprofit group dedicated to the well-being of the men and women serving in the IDF. She did this first through the firm she founded with her second husband, Richard Mahan, and then as the executive director for the Western Region of FIDF. Through her passion and personality, her division set records in fundraising and hosted galas that raised hundreds of millions of dollars for FIDF and other Jewish charities. She was honored for her work by having the IDF Legacy Center in Israel named after her and was described in the press as a “powerhouse of Jewish philanthropy.” Upon retiring from FIDF, she moved to Palm Desert.
Beyond her working hours, Miri was a devoted friend and mother, and an even more devoted grandmother. With her daughters, she was a constant source of love and support. The only bond stronger than with her daughters was with her grandchildren, all of whom she adored and adored her back.
Miri is survived by her three daughters, Ronit, Elanit, and Sigi, as well as four grandchildren, Eden, Zach, Ozzie, and Ivor. The funeral service will be private.
