Nancy Lou Domagala of Colorado Springs, a longtime former resident of Mahomet, IL., and Hattiesburg, MS., died peacefully at her residence with her two sons at her side on March 18, 2024.  Born in 1946 in Wayne, Neb., she was 77. 

Nancy’s career as a speech and language pathologist spanned 30 years until she retired to Colorado with her two beloved Weimaraner bird dogs, Chief and Blue, and where she would be near her grandchildren. Nancy loved dogs, the arts, hiking in the mountains, smiling, and reveling in nature’s beauty. She never encountered a dog, whether on a trail or at a local brewery, where she didn’t stop and apply a lengthy and enthusiastic scratch behind the ears, to the dog’s delight. 

In retirement, she developed a passion for playing pool and waltzing with her partner Bill Donaldson. Nine-ball pool was Nancy’s game of choice, and the elegant Broadmoor Waltz Club balls were where she hit the dance floor with Bill. She loved learning about Colorado history and was active in historical music and dance, so it was her joy to become a member of the Broadmoor Waltz Club in 2014, the oldest traditional ballroom dance club in the U.S., which was founded in 1937.  Nancy was a long-time member of the Rotary Club, both in Mahomet, IL., and in Woodland Park, CO.

Nancy took great delight in entertaining family and friends in her home, providing a bed-and-breakfast-type experience for anyone who had the pleasure of staying for the night. She was all in for every holiday, her home beautifully decorated in theme and the spirit of the holiday in full effect. She rarely sat down.

Nancy graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1969 with a bachelor of music education degree. She played flute in the university’s symphonic band and orchestra – often first chair – and was honored by the wind instrument faculty as its senior soloist. She was a member of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority. Nancy graduated from Wayne High School in her hometown in 1964.

She met and married fellow music student Allan Cox in 1966, while both were attending the university. They raised two sons in Hattiesburg, MS, where Nancy also ran a Montessori preschool in the late 1970s. She later returned to school to earn a master’s degree in speech and language pathology at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1990.

At Liberty Heights Senior Living in Colorado Springs, where she lived her final years, she was known for her smile and caring ways until her final days, enjoying close relationships with neighboring residents.

A celebration of Nancy’s life will be scheduled for later in the spring.

Nancy is survived by her partner, Bill Donaldson of Colorado Springs; her two sons, Mathew Cox and his wife Terra of Mobile, AL, and Damon Cox and his wife Kathy of Palmer Lake, CO; her sister Sue Larsen of Wayne, NE; her four grandchildren Avery Cox and Mason Cox of Mobile, AL, Tyler Cox of Daphne, AL, and Brandon Cox of Pensacola, FL; and two step-grandchildren Johnny Finchum Jr. of Loxley, AL, and Melissa Danielle Webb of Fairhope, AL.

Nancy is preceded in death by her husband, Ron Domagala; her parents Mary Walling and Siefke Kenneth deFreese, and her sister Mary Beth Brooks.