Mantorville loses city leader Luke Nash

Mantorville lost a dear friend when Luke Nash died Sunday, say city leaders.
Nash, a council member and former mayor, had a heart attack last week at his family’s downtown Mantorville business, The Chocolate Shoppe, and was transported to Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, where he passed away on Sunday.
“Luke always had a passion for giving to others,” said Mantorville Mayor Chuck Bradford. “He was very focused on his community and he was proud of the community he lived in. Luke was one of those community members who was just involved in a lot of things. Luke was right there helping all the time.”
Among his accomplishments, Bradford said, were serving as a veteran, as Dodge County deputy sheriff, on the council, as a community small business owner and he helped with park projects whenever one came up. Nash also had a large garden he tended to all summer, bringing the produce to the food shelf for those in need.
Nash also served in his church as a deacon, and as a moderator at the First Congregational Church in Dodge Center, according to his obituary.
He is survived by his wife Lynette and his two children, Luke B. Nash and Alexa.
“The big thing about Luke is he never made decisions until he had all the information so he could make a proper, informed decision,” said Terry Eckstein, president of the Mantorville Chamber of Commerce. “I respected him for that.”
Eckstein said he and Nash only disagreed once in their years of collaborating. Eckstein thought the old creamery building near Mantorville city hall should be restored and kept as a historic building. But Nash didn’t think it was salvageable, Eckstein said, and promoted removing it for new construction.
“I initially opposed the decision to demolish it but over time I ended up agreeing with Luke,” Eckstein said. “If he believed in something, he really fought for it. And he always cared about the city and the people in the city. So if there was an issue, he would always do what was in the best interest of the city.”
For Nash’s city council seat, the city will take submissions from anyone interested in filling the seat, Bradford said. The council will review the submissions and appoint a person to the seat, and they then have to run in the next 2022 election.
“Keep the Nash family in your thoughts and prayers,” Bradford said. “They are having a difficult time. The community has lost a valued member.”