John Hoover Hash

2/23/1929 - 6/20/2023

Nashville, TN

John Hoover Hash died on June 20, 2023 at the age of 94. He was born in Endicott, VA, the 11th of 12 children. After graduating from Roanoke College in 1949 with a BS in Biology, he taught high school for 2 years. He first met his future wife in 1945, and they met for a second time at a teacher’s meeting in 1950. They were married in 1953 while John was in the Army at Camp Detrick. Initially, they considered these two chance meetings as coincidental, but later in life saw them as providential. They were married for 62 and a half years.

After discharge from the Army, John attended graduate school at Virginia Tech, earning his MS and PhD degrees in biochemistry. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University and worked for 6 years as a research biochemist in New York, before being appointed Assistant Professor in Microbiology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1964. In 1970, John became a full professor, and in 1976, he was appointed Associate Dean for Biomedical Research and Director of Sponsored Research. He remained in this position until his retirement as Emeritus Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in 1994.

John’s retirement gave him time to pursue long deferred goals of woodworking, pastel and oil painting, reading and travel. His art was eclectic and he painted whatever he liked, for the fun of it. He and his wife traveled to all the continents of the world except Antarctica.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Ann Hash, his parents, James Goode and Nannie Hash, his six brothers and five sisters. He is survived by his three children, Debra Ewin, Susan Bjerkaas, and Richard Hash, their spouses, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

John was a loving, intelligent, kind, and generous man. He was greatly loved by his family and friends. They will miss him deeply but are grateful for his life, grace, kindness, example, and presence in their lives. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Woodmont Baptist Church, 2100 Woodmont Blvd, on July 8, with visitation at 11:00 am, followed by the Service at 12:00. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the charity of your choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/nashville-cremation for the Hash family.