Patricia Elizabeth (Woodard) Nagy

Tish passed away at her home on Friday, August 11, 2023 after a brief illness.  She was born Patricia Elizabeth Woodard to her parents Woody and Gretchen over 78 years ago.  Her parents; her two brothers Ron and Dennis; and her son Marcus preceded her in death. Tish is survived by her husband, Tom; and their four children: son Michael (Sylvia) Nagy; and their two children, John Michael and Lauren (Cameron) Apodaca; son Matthew (Stacy) Nagy and their four children; Morgan, Gavin, and Erin (Alex) Montaño, with great-granddaughter Lydia, and Austin Nagy; son Clifford Nagy and daughter Nikki (Brad) Bratcher; and their two children, Sam and Charlie. She leaves behind many cherished relatives, precious friends and deep relationships dating back decades, one as far as the first grade.

Tish loved and liked everyone. If you crossed paths with her in the last couple years, after you walked away, she almost certainly said, "What a jewel!"  She saw the best in people and had a heart to encourage and lift up each one. To that end she wrote many notes, baked many chocolate chip cookies, made many phone calls, dropped off many meals and prayed countless prayers.  She was the nicest person anyone would ever meet and always had a smile, a hug and a kind word for everyone she encountered.  If you met Tish, you'd want what she had... Jesus!  She purposed to display His love to any and all.

Tish had boundless energy and could hardly sit still.  She worked hard all her waking hours; cooking, cleaning, sorting, labeling, mowing, raking, weeding, sweeping, hauling, and on, and on, and on, like the Energizer bunny. She called all of it "free exercise".  But she was never too busy for people.  She was patient and present.  She always had time to push a baby on a swing, teach a child to read/write or visit at length with anyone willing to talk.

From the time she was a young girl her life-long goal was to be "a good Mommy and a good wife."  She took the gold medal in both categories and these were her great joys.  But Tish exuded joy in everything she did and over the seasons of her life, different aspects of her journey brought her distinct joy.  For many years, it was her grandchildren and others she "adopted" as grandchildren.  She relished spending time with them, making cakes and throwing parties, writing poems on giant poster board cards, hosting cousin camps and just playing.  She loved having people in her home and at her dinner table. She found joy partnering with her husband to help many couples through biblical marriage counseling.  In later years she found joy in study time, teaching and gardening.  In the final chapter of her life, Tish experienced joy in the birds in her yard, the solar dancing dolls that filled her windows, daily walks, singing old hymns and, as ever, people.

In lieu of a traditional service, we extend a heartfelt invitation to honor her memory in a way that most captures Tish's impact on your life.  Your presence in Tish's life mattered to her and it matters to her family.  Therefore, stories of how she impacted you are deeply meaningful to us.  Your memories, anecdotes and condolences can be recorded in her online guestbook on the French website. If you want to honor Tish's memory in some special ways, consider doing something nice for someone today; bake some cookies, write a note, plant a flower. And, if you are willing, we treasure learning about it.  Thank you for blessing us in this way, because the stories and anecdotes you share with us about Tish become a part of her legacy within our family-for generations to come.

Above all, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23).