29-05-2025
‘Last wish come true': Bringing the zoo to a veteran in Massillon
MASSILLON, Ohio (WJW) — For 22 years, Jim Nash served in the United States Navy as a corpsman and senior chief, including during the Gulf War.
'He loves his time in the service he loves talking about the service anything everything he wants to be remembered for his time in the navy,' said his daughter Cindy Nash.
Aboard the USS Guam, he participated in Operation Eastern Exit, the evacuation of more than 280 people from the United States Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1981.
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Now a resident of Sprenger Assisted Living in Massillon, where he is enrolled in hospice care, the 71-year-old veteran was honored Wednesday with an emotional and surprise pinning ceremony conducted by Wellspring Hospice.
The ceremony brought tears to his eyes. But it was not his only surprise.
'I think he loves animals and so he told us his last wish was to go to the zoo,' said Erica Myers, Sprenger's marketing director.
Unable to go to the zoo, however, the assisted living home worked to bring the zoo to him.
'He's battled MS for over 30 years he was still in the service when he got that and he just never gave up,' said Cindy.
Barkheimer Barns & Nickajack Farms brought animals — including a baby monkey, baby tortoise, baby goat, baby prairie dog, a rooster and an armadillo — to the nursing home as a surprise.
'He's immobile, he's bed bound, but he still has a smile on his face every single day,' said Cindy.
'The last big thing that we were able to do together, we took him to the Akron Zoo and so he's been wanting to go back to the zoo,' she told Fox 8.
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'It's very special, we are just entirely thankful that we have the opportunity to do so,' said Sarah Barkheimer of Barkheimer farms.
'I feel very honored and blessed to give back to someone who served 20 years in some small way to make his last wish come true,' said Myers.
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