ST. LOUIS - They came to remember Dee Dee.

Football fans knew Damien Nash the running back - star at the University of Missouri, a Tennessee Titans draft pick and, before his sudden death last Saturday of causes still unknown, a member of the Denver Broncos backfield.

But as far back as friends and family could remember, Nash was known by his nickname. And at his wake Sunday afternoon at the Ronald L. Jones Chapel in his hometown, well-wishers paid their respects with official gear: the No. 2 Nash wore at Mizzou, the No. 42 he sported with the Titans and No. 29 he donned last season with the Broncos.

Yet the most pervasive items of clothing were T-shirts bearing Nash's less formal name, along with his likeness.

"Dee Dee. If I could run it back . . . " one popular item said, with the player's April 14, 1982, date of birth and Feb. 24 date of death standing in contrast to a photo of a smiling Nash lounging on a couch.

"RIP, Dee Dee. Where it all began," another shirt read, providing a reminder of his roots here.

"Dee Dee. Gone, but not forgotten . . . " others read.

The outpouring resonated with Nash's family.

"It touches my heart and shows nothing but love," Nash's aunt, Kim Heggs, said. "He was a great young man."

Questions linger

Still in the back of nearly everyone's mind who knew Nash, though, is the question of just what happened to end the life of a seemingly healthy athlete in his prime.

Nash's brother, Darris, previously had a heart transplant, and the Broncos player was hosting a charity basketball game at his old high school, Riverview Gardens, to help raise money for heart- transplant research. Thus, there are suspicions a heart-related problem may have been involved when Nash collapsed and died shortly after the event. But a preliminary autopsy proved inconclusive.

So, even with the funeral set for today, closure for those close to Nash likely won't come until a definitive cause of death is reached, probably in the next two to three weeks when the county coroner issues a full report.

"It's a tragedy," said Nash's grandmother, Barbara Costello. "I really need to know what happened to my grandson. I need to know. And no one knows."

Darris Nash, ironically, also had collapsed after a basketball game before extensive tests uncovered his heart problem and eventually led to the transplant.

But Damien Nash was seemingly healthy and had passed a slew of physicals both from college and pro teams, making his death even more shocking.

Everyone rooted for Nash

Inside the small chapel, a steady stream of mourners filed in front of Nash's open casket, which sat between an oversized picture of the late Bronco with an accompanying passage of scripture and a slide show of his life.

The photos flipping by on the pull-down movie screen showed Nash smiling from beneath a St. Louis Cardinals baseball hat, wearing his Riverview Gardens High School Rams uniform and posing in studio shots with his wife, Judy, and 7-month-old daughter, Phaith.

Just inside the entrance to the chapel, a former teammate at Riverview, Jerrell Sherod, was gathering signatures from ex-teammates on a football that will be presented today to Nash's mother, Kimberly.

Sherod had known Nash since sixth grade and described his friend as someone who was friendly with everybody and "never conceited . . . a good person inside and out."

It's one reason why everyone rooted for Nash to succeed. Even rival prep athletes from the North County area showed up Sunday to pay their respects.

"Everybody was proud of him and glad he did the things that he did," Sherod said. "Just to see somebody that you know make it in something that was their dream was just exciting to everybody."

Amid the outpouring of emotion Sunday came a scare: Nash's brother became so overwhelmed with grief he collapsed inside the chapel.

Family members propped him up and carried him downstairs as paramedics were called to the scene. But Darris Nash was given intravenous fluids - he apparently hadn't eaten - and went home instead of riding in the ambulance, though he did need help to his car.

The visitation continued, with Missouri assistant coaches among those paying respects.

Dee Dee and Little D

The Broncos will send a contingent to the funeral today. Team owner Pat Bowlen, head coach Mike Shanahan, General Manager Ted Sundquist and Executive Vice President for Business Operations Joe Ellis have chartered a small plane for the event.

Running backs coach Bobby Turner, offensive coordinator Rick Dennison and assistant secondary coach Ronnie Bradford also plan to attend. About 20 players also should be on hand.

Just two months earlier, those same Broncos employees were bound for Fort Worth, Texas, to mourn the shooting death of cornerback Darrent Williams.

Williams was known to many of those close to him as "Little D" or simply "D." Now, Dee Dee is gone, too.

"It's tough, and it's a wake-up call for everybody," Nash's stepbrother, Marcus Green, said. "But I'm glad everyone came out to support him.

"In St. Louis, it's hard to have something real positive like this with everyone in one place with nothing going on. He was definitely a positive person, and he's making everyone turn positive. And I respect him for that."

rasizerl@RockyMountainNews.com

Back to Top