Lifelong resident, devoted caregiver dies in car crash

By Jay Turner

Marian Nay, a well-known, lifelong resident who was once the face of the old Canton Oriental Theatre and dedicated decades of her life to caring for her disabled husband, died on Saturday as a result of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on Neponset Street.

Nay, 77, was driving in the vicinity of Norfolk Street (near the Paul Revere Heritage Site) around 9:30 a.m. when she collided with a parked dump truck. A med flight was called to the scene and the helicopter landed on Devoll Field, but Fire Lt. Tom Norton said it was quickly determined that the patient was not stable enough to fly.

She was instead transported by ambulance to Good Samaritan Medical Center and was treated while en route, but was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

A 1962 graduate of Canton High School, Marian (née Lukaszewicz) was married to the late Peter Nay and together they raised four children in Canton. A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at age 47 forced Peter into early retirement and eventually into a wheelchair, and Marian faithfully served as his caregiver until his death in 2015. “She did a wonderful job with him,” noted Fire Chief Charles Doody. “You couldn’t have asked a nurse to be any better than she was to her husband for all those years as his caregiver.”

According to her obituary, Nay also “loved all animals and always took in and cared for strays.”

Nay held several jobs in and around Canton but was perhaps best known as the usher at the Canton Oriental Theatre, which enjoyed a brief but memorable lifespan as a throw-back movie house in downtown Canton in the late 1970s and early 80s.

In a profile piece on the theatre that ran in the Citizen in 2014, historical columnist George Comeau characterized Nay as the “key to the venture” and the one who “gave execution to [theatre owner Fred] McLennan’s vision.” Nay, according to Comeau, was a jack of all trades, responsible for everything from taking tickets to mopping the floors to buying the “real butter for the fresh popped Iowa popcorn.”

In her later years, Nay was a frequent visitor at the Canton Senior Center, where she enjoyed participating in seminars and interacting with her fellow Canton seniors. “We are going to miss Marian’s presence at the Senior Center,” said Diane Tynan, director of the Canton Department of Elder and Human Services. “Marian used to come in with Honey Dew Donuts, which were enjoyed by all as well as her company and friendship.”

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