John and his bonnie lass Ann have been attending HRSM club meetings for many, many years.  His obvious joy was in history and modeling was a tool he used to illustrate the events and lessons from the past.  His passion was especially for nautical history, which meshed perfectly with the patriotism born of a life of courageous service.  John’s unending enthusiasm for sharing the lore he knew with others , creating wonderfully artful and informative displays explaining the broad and focused details of history, was a huge part of his life.  This propensity for teaching was just one aspect of a man who unabashedly made connections with everyone he met.

My own connection with John was through our time in the modeling club and rather small given the arc of John’s life.  To me, he was a honest acquaintance – a friend even – but always steadfast. I admired his intellect, creativity, personal fortitude and just generally enjoyed his company.  John had a good heart, a salty humor and a very strong grip. He will be missed.

John Joseph Nugent
January 9, 1947 – August 3, 2020

John was a man of many passions. Besides his family, he was passionate about his country, instilled in him by his mother and father who both served on active duty during WWII, his Navy, Scotland, bagpipes and any animal that ever drew breath. John spent 28 years in the Navy, 15 of which were as a hard hat diver. Since retiring in 1991, he also reached over 2 million people with outreach programs on Navy/Marine Corps history and heritage. John played the bagpipes since the age of 10, and always said the time stationed in Scotland felt most like home and will be the final resting place of his ashes.
John loved animals and had a constant parade from the injured seal in his kitchen in Scotland to injured raccoons and birds and countless dogs and cats. Any animal was safe once they got to John.

John leaves behind a family that loves him more than he could ever know, including Ann, his wife of 32 years; son, Sean Nugent; sister, Patricia (Patty) Histon; stepsons, Richard and William Leonard; five grandchildren; a great-granddaughter; niece and nephew and many great nieces and nephews. He was a true Highland Gentleman.

Below, some images of our friend at club meetings.