Nancy Cole, age 64, from Hoquiam, WA passed away unexpectedly on August 8, 2026. Nancy was born in Aberdeen on November 7, 1961, to Gerald and Rae Cole.

Nancy was a 1980 graduate from Aberdeen High School. Nancy started working at Ralph’s Hallmark in the Wishkah Mall at the age of 16. She worked for Hallmark for 20 years, most of those years as the store manager. She was also the store manager at JoAnn Fabric until 2006.Customers loved Nancy’s outgoing and friendly personality and would often stop by just to see her.

Nancy met the love of her life in her senior year of high school. Nancy and David met when she volunteered to help work on a plane being built by Hoquiam High School. They started dating, which began their lifelong relationship. Nancy and David had a daughter, Davi Jo Mandich, in 1999.

In 2006, David and Nancy started a fishing guide business and built a lodging facility, Becharof Rapids Camp, in a very remote area in Alaska. Nancy took on the responsibility of providing meals for their fishing clients as well as handling the administrative work.

Nancy loved the holidays and enjoyed decorating both the inside and outside of her home. She would spend months coming up with new ideas for the “Boneyard on Boursaw” for Halloween and the Christmas displays and lights. Her decorations were truly a sight to behold and there was always a steady stream of people coming out to see her displays. She always had fun trick-or-treat goodies to hand out on Halloween and cocoa and treats for Christmas carolers.

Nancy loved to bake and was always in charge of bringing dessert to all the family gatherings.At Christmas, Nancy would spend days making cookie trays to give to family, friends and neighbors as well as homemade treats for all our family pets.

Nancy spent many years making holiday crafts for different events in Grays Harbor. It makes us smile to know Nancy’s spirit lives on through her creations. If you have one of Nancy’s pieces, we hope you think of her when you put it out on display this holiday season. Nancy also loved to create “gag” gifts for her family at Christmas.

Nancy volunteered as the cookie cupboard for the Girls Scouts of America. Every March, her garage would be stuffed full of cookies for the troops to sell.

Nancy was fiercely loyal to those she loved and would do anything for you. She loved animals,having many pets over the years. Nancy was always up for fun and loved to laugh. She had a great laugh! Nancy also enjoyed traveling with her family, reading, gardening and clam digging.Nancy’s perfect day would be sitting on her deck on a warm day, flowers in bloom all around her, watching the hummingbirds eat from one of her many feeders with the deer just a few feet away. Her home was her sanctuary.

Nancy is survived by her loving partner of 46 years, David Mandich, her daughter, Davi Jo, who shares Nancy’s love of decorating and baking, her dad, Gerald Cole, sister Kim Edwards(David), brothers, Kurt Cole and Jerry Cole (Natalie Karnas). Nancy was also a very special aunt to her nephew Cole Edwards. She was preceded in death by her mom, Rae Cole.

A memorial service is being planned for November 8 th , Nancy’s 65 birthday. More details will be shared later. In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorial donations to PAWS of Grays Harbor, PO Box 451, Aberdeen, WA 98520.

Our lives have changed forever since the day we lost you. We love you with all our hearts.

“They may have gone from your sight,but never from your heart. . .That’s where love lives, always.”Winnie the Pooh