Nancy Jo Cobler

Feb. 8, 1940-Sept. 17, 2026

Nancy Jo Cobler died Sept. 17, 2026, the way she lived: trying to make sure the ones she loved were comfortable and appreciated.

She was born Feb. 8, 1940, in Topeka, Kansas, to Leona and Donald Boley, who filled her early life with music, playing in dance halls around the area. As a young girl, Nancy would join her parents’ band on stage and sing a couple of favorite numbers, “Bonaparte’s Retreat” and “Beg Your Pardon.” The crowd threw pennies onto the stage for the adorable girl.

The inflection point in her life came in late 1962 while she was working in the audit department at Blue Cross Blue Shield, where she had worked since 1958, her senior year at Topeka High School. She had never met before anyone like the handsome man wearing an olive fedora who strode into the office to conduct an independent audit. Over breaks at the Blue Cross Blue Shield pastry cart, she learned the intelligent and charismatic man was certified public accountant Walter L. Cobler. She was immediately smitten, but he was married, and she was engaged to a young man she had met in high school. The three-week audit ended, and they both went their separate ways. Some months later, they bumped into each other at lunch at a Topeka diner near downtown. Walter mentioned he was getting divorced. That was enough of an opening for Nancy. She called him later that week, asked for a date and broke it off with her fiance. On Nancy and Walt’s first date, they danced to “Moon River.” At every opportunity after that, they floated across the dance floor together, marveling appreciative onlookers.

As they dated, she learned Walt had three young children, Sharen, Walter Jr. and Chris. His soon-to-be ex-wife was incapable of caring for them, and Walt had insisted he get full custody. Nancy had been raised with only an older brother, Donny, and was not ready to suddenly have three children to care for at age 24, but she loved Walt with all her heart. They were married Feb. 14, 1964, in Topeka. Walt was so grateful that he started taking his new family to Highland Park Methodist Church to give thanks to God for bringing Nancy into his life. He also later started a tradition of giving her a rose for every year of their marriage with the bouquets growing larger each Valentine’s Day.

Their love affair blossomed for the next six decades. Family, fishing and dancing were the constant themes of those six-plus decades. On their delayed honeymoon, Walt and Nancy went fishing in the Colorado Rockies, and she was immediately hooked. The couple made such trips frequently. Their family grew to six in November 1965 with the birth of Kathryn. Every summer, the family packed up their big boat of a Buick for a long drive to a different amusement park, singing “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” searching the horizon for letters on signs and billboards to win the alphabet game, and trying to keep Kathryn and Sharen from throwing up. A favorite of those trips was to Disney World, where the kids learned what real orange juice tasted like and they saw and swam in the ocean for the first time.

As Walt’s career took off, Nancy did everything around the home: gardening, sewing, cooking, baking, cleaning and caring for the kids. She did it all with a positive attitude, often dancing while dusting to Barbra Streisand, Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and Spyro Gyra’s “Morning Dance.” She also showed her adventurous and competitive spirit, getting her pilot’s license in her 40s just because she always wanted to fly. She took up jogging and tennis, becoming proficient at both, and later started jumping rope for 15 minutes at a time to keep osteoporosis at bay. It worked, too, because her bone-density readings actually improved.

For the last third of their lives, Nancy and Walt moved to their retirement dream home near Sonoita, Arizona, in 1994. They loved their remote, quiet life, but Nancy also made sure to look after others. When Kathryn was on bedrest during the last nine weeks of her pregnancy, Nancy drove the 75 minutes from Sonoita to Tucson to make her daughter food and clean her house four days a week. When she learned an elderly friend was lonely, she called her regularly to keep her company. To keep the family ties strong long distance, she did the same for Walt’s sister, Mary, when she was older and in a nursing home, and his other siblings as they aged.

Of course, she never lost sight of home, staying a diehard Kansas Jayhawk basketball and Kansas City Chiefs football fan. She could talk for hours about both teams with anyone who asked. Her competitive spirit also was never stronger than when playing cards or Scrabble, rarely losing at any game. Although she never had the opportunity to go to college, her intellect was formidable, and she became as adept as her husband at managing their investments. With her exercise regimen, her work ethic and careful diet, she seemed indestructible to her children.

Her health collapsed when glioblastoma struck out of the blue earlier this year, but Nancy remained a positive fighter. After surgery to remove a lemon-sized tumor from the front of her brain, she regaled her worried children with stories of her youth and showered affection upon them. She apologized for not knowing how to be a better mother when she was young, trying to do her best in a difficult situation with three children broken by their mother’s mental health problems. She thanked all of the children time and time again for their love and support. She spent her 86th birthday in the hospital but kept fighting hard to get better so that she could take care of Walt once again. Cancer wouldn’t let her reach that goal, and Walt couldn’t imagine a life without her. He died suddenly on July 16 of that year. Even though she was weak from her own battle, she never left his hospital room until after he took his final breath. Married for 62 years, she decided it was time to join him 62 days after his death.

They are at rest together at East Lawn Palms Cemetery under a gravestone that reads “Dancing Together Forever.” Private family services are planned. Rather than send flowers, the family asks people to give to the charity of their choice: Make someone else feel more appreciated and comfortable.

Nancy is survived by her four children, Sharen Swagerty, Walt Cobler Jr. (Mona), Chris Cobler (Paula), Kathryn Robinson (Rick); eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and her brother.