Mary Beth Nadsady

Mary Beth (Kennedy) Nadsady, of Hudson Ohio, passed away peacefully at the age of 59 on February 15, 2026, at Tamarack Ridge Health & Rehabilitation in Kent, after a long and courageous battle with Huntington's Disease (HD). Born on Jan 13, 1967, in Parma Ohio, Mary Beth attended St. Charles Borromeo School, and then Holy Name High School.

Mary Beth is survived by her loving husband of 24 years, Ken; cherished children Alex Lizanich (Brittany), David Lizanich (Courtney), and Karli; Mother Pat Kennedy, brother Gary Kennedy, and sister Jennifer Jencik (Doug); and mother-in-law Jean Lizanich. She was preceded in death by her father Donald Raymond Kennedy.

Mary Beth graduated from Cuyahoga Community College with a Nursing degree in 1989 and had a successful career as a registered nurse with several Northeast Ohio hospitals including Parma Community Hospital, Hillcrest Hospital, Robinson Memorial Hospital, and Akron Children's Hospital. Her skills and experience were diverse, providing high quality care as a staff nurse in post-anesthesia care units, outpatient surgery units, endoscopy, and in the pediatric emergency room. As an exceptional nurse, Mary Beth was adored by patients young and old for her gentle and calming demeanor, attentiveness, kindness, and contagious positivity.

Mary Beth absolutely loved being a mom and adored her children. She decorated the house with every change of season and for every holiday, with a focus on how to make it fun for the kids. She prioritized the importance of creating special family experiences, such as trips to find a Christmas tree--which always included lots of hot chocolate; hayrides at local orchards to pick apples; or scouring the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkins that Alex, David, and Karli would carve for Halloween. She had an amazing talent for coming up with funny, affectionate nicknames for her kids and pets, like Sally, Addi, DD, Lilly Jane, and Mister Meowmans. She was an awesome cook, whose meals such as chicken paprikash, meatloaf, and chicken parmesan brought comfort and joy to her family at dinner time. Beth was immensely proud of her children, and it brought her great joy to see them grow into the incredible loving human beings they are today. She treasured her family time spent at every Hudson Hawks and High School football game cheering on David, every Karate practice and belt achievement supporting Alex, every Horse camp demonstration or musical Karli shined in, and so many more.

Mary Beth would light up a room with her beautiful smile, captivate you with her sweet and caring personality, and comfort you with her warm heart. She really knew how to have fun and joke around--with her kids, Ken, her cousins, coworkers, and many friends. Her infectious laughter was a gift that will be missed every day.

HD is a relentless disease, that gradually and greedily takes away physical and cognitive abilities, but the one thing HD could never take was Beth's spirit. Despite the challenges the disease brought, she was always eager for the next activity, adventure, or family gathering with never a complaint. She loved going to Guardians games, playing bingo, attending happy hours with her friends, playing chair volleyball and horse racing games at Hudson Meadows, and doing puzzles with her family while listening to Yacht Rock radio. She loved her favorite restaurant, Ray's Place, for Blue Moon, for watching Cleveland sports teams, for the food, and for the awesome hosts, servers and bartenders that made her feel so welcome. Mary Beth was a true HD warrior. For two years she travelled every eight weeks to UPMC in Pittsburgh for a full day of testing, spinal fluid withdrawal, and spinal injection of an experimental drug as a participant in a clinical trial for a potential treatment. She joined her family in many HDSA events, such as Hope Walks, national conventions, and the HDSA fall gala.

Mary Beth spent her final week surrounded by her family who love her so very much. It was an 8-day goodbye, sharing stories, reliving memories, crying, laughing, and feeling the love that they all shared with Mary Beth. Now her family finds comfort in knowing she is finally at peace, because there is no Huntington's Disease in Heaven.

A memorial service for Mary Beth will be held at 11:00am on Saturday May 16th at Saint Charles Borromeo Church, 5891 Ridge Rd, in Parma. A celebration of Mary Beth's life is planned the same day from 2:00pm until 5:00pm, at Mavis Winkles Irish Pub, 8870 Darrow Rd, in Twinsburg. A private family burial is planned at Chestnut Hill Memorial Park, 2613 Sackett Ave, in Cuyahoga Falls.

For those who would like to honor Mary Beth's memory and help her family and others in the race to find a cure for Huntington's Disease, you can make a donation by visiting this link: https://hdsa.org/mbn. All donations go toward research to find a cure and care for families devastated by this disease.