Francis Paul Nestor was born February 16, 1927, in New London, OH to Francis E. and Elizabeth Marie (Day)
Nestor.
He attended Clarksfield Elementary School and in 1945 graduated from New London High School. He served in
the United States Marine Corps following which he attended Arizona State University before graduating
from Ohio State and Bowling Green Universities.
On January 2, 1956 Paul was united in Christian marriage to Marie Antoinette Abbruzzese, daughter of
Nicholas and Valeria (Bracaloni) Abbruzzese in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Columbus, OH with
Father Antimo Boerio officiating. Paul and Marie were blessed with four sons, Kevin Paul, Christopher
Milan, Michael Edward and Tobin Aloysius.
Paul’s career was in education, coaching football, track and basketball, and in school administration. He
coached state championship teams in football (Bishop Ready High School, Columbus, OH in 1983) and track
& field (Paulding High School in 1960). He was inducted into the Ohio High School Football
Coaches Hall of Fame in April 2003.
Paul received many coaching awards culminating with the Columbus Shamrock Club’s Woody Hayes Award and in
2002 the Columbus Dispatch’s Lou Berliner Award for excellence in coaching high school athletics.
His career included serving in the Clyde, OH; Paulding, OH; Bowling Green, OH; Saginaw, MI Arthur Hill;
Columbus, OH Father Wehrle; New London, OH; Columbus, OH Bishop Ready; Wickenburg, AZ; Salome, AZ
Bicentennial; Marietta, OH; and Zanesville, OH Bishop Rosecrans High Schools.
Paul is survived by sons; Kevin (Paula) of Mansfield, Christopher of Columbus and Tobin “Toby”
(Christine) of Zanesville; nine grandchildren, Melissa, Allison (Chris) March, Stephanie (Kyle) Brown,
Kaitlyn and Garrett Nestor; Cara and Paul Nestor; Nicholas Nestor and Madison Landkrohn; two great
grandsons, Wyatt and Miles March; sisters-in-law, Margaret (Tom) Nestor and Darlaine (Richard) Nestor
and many nieces, nephews and friends. In addition to his parents, wife, and mother and father-in-law, he
was preceded in death by one son, Michael Nestor; brothers, Tom, Bill, and Richard Nestor;
brother-in-law, John (Paula) Slupski and sister-in-law Phyllis Buchanan, grandparents, Thomas and Mary
(Langdon) Nestor and Albert and Florence (Jones) Day.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 PM on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, at the Hillis, Combs & Nestor
Funeral Home, 935 Forest Avenue, Zanesville, where the Rosary will be recited at 7:45 PM. Visitation
will follow from 2 to 4 & 6 to 8 PM, Wednesday, February 26, at the John Quint Treboni Funeral
Home, 1177 West Fifth Avenue, Columbus, where a Prayer Vigil will take place at 7:45 PM.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11 AM on Thursday, February 27 at St. Joseph Cemetery, 6440 South
High Street, Lockbourne, OH with Fr. Martin Ralko as Celebrant. Burial will conclude in the St. Joseph
Cemetery Lockbourne with the United States Marine Corps conducting full military honors.
To sign the online register book or send a personal condolence note please visit
www.hilliscombsnestor.com
