lit a candle 2h agoRead this on my lunch break and had to stop and think about my own dad, who welded for thirty years in Tulsa and used to say the same thing Ed apparently told his students, that a bad weld never lies, it just waits. Never knew this man, never set foot in Saginaw, but men like him built half this country and nobody put their names on anything. Rest easy, Ed.
Their story
Edwin J. "Ed" Nab Sr. was not a celebrity or a public official. He was a retired tradesman and welding instructor from Saginaw, Michigan, whose death became news in the ordinary way that a life well lived in a community becomes news: through an obituary that friends, former students and…
Edwin J. "Ed" Nab Sr. was not a celebrity or a public official. He was a retired tradesman and welding instructor from Saginaw, Michigan, whose death became news in the ordinary way that a life well lived in a community becomes news: through an obituary that friends, former students and colleagues have shared and discussed. This page exists because people are searching for him, and it sets out plainly what is publicly known and documented about his life, his work and his death.
Edwin Nab was born on May 14, 1937, in Lyman, Nebraska, to Walter and Edith (Wagner) Nab. He moved with his family to Saginaw, Michigan, when he was three years old and was raised there. He graduated from Arthur Hill High School in 1955. He went on to build a decades long career as a tradesman in Saginaw's manufacturing sector.
He began his working life at Combination Engineering Inc. before moving to what was then the Saginaw Steering Gear Division, which later became Nexteer Automotive. He worked there until his retirement in 1999. Alongside his factory career, he spent many years teaching welding classes at the Career Opportunity Center, passing his trade on to a generation of local students. For those who searched his name after hearing of his passing, this combination of factory work and teaching is what he was known for locally: a skilled welder who also taught others the craft.
On April 18, 1959, he married MaryLou Hopkins. The couple were married for sixty four years until her death on November 29, 2023. Together they raised a family in Saginaw. He was the father of two surviving sons, Edwin J. Nab Jr. and Gregory Nab, both of Saginaw, and he was predeceased by a third son, John Nab. He was also a grandfather to two granddaughters and a grandson, and had many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, by his sisters Darleen Nab and Janice Johnston, and by his brother Roy Nab.
Edwin Nab died on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at Edgewood Assisted Living in Saginaw, Michigan, at the age of 89. No cause of death has been made public. His family has expressed thanks to Heart to Heart Hospice and to the staff of Edgewood Assisted Living for the care they gave him. His death was announced through an obituary published by Snow Funeral Home of Saginaw, which is the source for the details on this page. There has been no indication of wider public tribute beyond family, friends, former colleagues and former students remembering him through the funeral home's guestbook and in the community he spent his whole life in.
Biography adapted from News reports and the sources cited on this page; death reported by Legacy | Obituary.
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1by People Forever
This is a kind way to put it. My uncle worked under him at Steering Gear, he'd agree completely.