Dr. Larry L. Nash DDS

Dr. Larry L. Nash DDS of Coralville, formerly of Fairfield, passed away Friday
May 8, 2026, in his home surrounded by his family.
Funeral services celebrating his life will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, May
15, 2026 at First United Methodist Church in Fairfield with Rev. Al Coffin
officiating. Burial will be at Graceland Cemetery in Knoxville, Iowa. Visitation will
be one hour prior to the service Friday at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials
may be made to First United Methodist Church or Jefferson County Health Center
Foundation. Behner Funeral Home in Fairfield is assisting the family.
Larry was born July 25, 1935, at a farmhouse in rural Mahaska County, Iowa
to Vern and Vivian Nash. He grew up in Knoxville, Iowa and graduated from
Knoxville High School in 1953.
Larry attended the University of Iowa and graduated from the U of I Dental
School in 1959. During that time, he fell in love with Janet Price, marrying on
August 26, 1956. After graduating from Dental School, he was chosen as a Fellow
of the American Academy of Dentists and the Academy of General Dentistry.
Upon graduation, he became an Officer in the US Navy. As his first duty in the
Navy, he was assigned to Point Barrow Alaska in the Arctic Circle as a research
analyst of Arctic wildlife. His subsequent duties were and internship at The Great
Lakes Naval Hospital, followed by assignment to the aircraft carrier USS Randolph
in the Atlantic Ocean. His final active duty was at the Oakland Naval Hospital in
California. In 1964 he resigned his Rank and joined the Naval Reserves.
Larry and Janet moved their family back to Iowa and set up their dental
practice in Fairfield. He was invited to join the Faculty of the U of I College of
Dentistry as Adjunct Faculty teaching one day a week for 30 years. At this time,
he was also completing his Navy Reserve Status. He was Commanding officer of
the Navy Reserve Dental Company 9-9 and retired as Commander with 20 years
of service in the Navy. He retired from his dental practice of 36 years in 2000.
Throughout his life he loved hunting and fishing and traveled to 15 states
plus Canada and Mexico to pursue his passion. He also enjoyed trap and skeet
shooting. One of his great loves was his 400-acre conservation farm in the rolling
hills of Monroe County. The locals nicknamed the Nash farm “Little Switzerland”.
There were many Nash campouts with family and friends and many much-
anticipated annual deer hunts at the Nash farm. He and Janet enjoyed traveling
together and went on many memorable trips including wintering in Palm
Desert/Palm Springs for 20 years with many side trips to Carmel. He was
chairman of the Maasdam Barn Committee and a member of the Jefferson
County Trails Committee and devoted many hours to building projects for both.
In recognition for his volunteer work within the community, he was honored with
Person of the Year Award. He was a Rotarian for 50 plus years and was a member
of Fairfield United Methodist Church.
Larry and Janet are the parents of two children, Deb (Jeff) Kiekel and Todd
(Dana) Nash. They have four grandchildren, Lisa Walther, Erica (Dylan) Roberts,
Wade (Madison) Nash, and Eric Nash as well as four step-grandchildren, Brenden,
Kyle, Becca, and Scott Kiekel. They have 2 great grandchildren Logan and Wyatt
Roberts.
He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Janet, as well as all of his children,
grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
He was proceeded in death by his parents Vern and Vivian Nash, his sister
Sally Phillips, his in-laws Carroll and Mildred Price, and sister-in-law Joan Schaffer.
Online condolences may be made to Dr. Nash’s family by viewing his
obituary at www.behnerfh.com.