Nancy Daly, a career journalist who covered communities in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

Nancy Daly was a joy to be around, a first-class journalist, a caregiver, a sister, a friend, and an active member of her community. It saddened many to hear that she passed away recently. Nancy died October 21 at the age of 70 at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Although she had endured a difficult medical journey over the last year, her death was unexpected. She kept her upbeat, optimistic nature even as her medical condition deteriorated, and was looking forward to getting back to writing, photography, travel, and cooking.

Nancy was a valued contributor to Soapbox and its sister publication in Northern Kentucky, NKY Thrives, since 2020, bringing her deep knowledge of the community, particularly Northern Kentucky, to many stories that resonated with readers. Her work here came at the end of a long career in community journalism that began at the University of Kentucky, where she earned a degree in journalism, then at the Commonwealth Journal in Somerset, Ky., the Recorder newspapers that covered Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, the Community Press newspapers that covered suburban Cincinnati, and at the Cincinnati Enquirer, which she retired from in 2019.

In each of those stops, she earned the respect of the people she covered through the care she brought to her work. Paul McKibben worked with Nancy at the Recorder papers for five years, where she was his editor. “She loved the communities we covered,” he says. “She had a keen interest in hyperlocal community journalism, and she knew the stories readers cared about.”

She maintained an upbeat attitude in a deadline-driven business where the pressure could be nonstop. “The news business can be very stressful,” McKibben says. “She didn’t let the stress get to her.”

“Nancy was an outstanding editor and also a really lovely person who genuinely loved Northern Kentucky and was invested in its success,” says Amanda Nageleisen, who worked with Nancy at the Community Press papers and later at the Enquirer.

She cared about the people she worked with too, as McKibben recalled Nancy attending his wedding, and organizing an office baby shower for he and his wife’s first child.

Family was important to her, and her sister Mary recalls her leading her six siblings in folk music concerts at family get-togethers. Her brother Trey also remembers her leading the “Von Daly” singers when they were children during their parents’ parties with her “clear soaring alto” and her guitar. Although he was too young at the time to understand the words of the ‘60s folk songs she favored, “I understood the emotional wallop of those close family harmonies,” he says. 

Nancy was a self-described “Army brat” who was born at a military hospital in the Presidio, in San Francisco, and whose childhood was spent in Virginia, Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Germany. She found a home in Kentucky. 

At Soapbox and NKY Thrives, she had a knack for finding and telling stories that shed light on the community she lived in. She covered the impact of the pandemic on the economic plans of Florence, Ky. and on the delivery of health care. She was early to spot Kentucky’s drift to legalize marijuana. She corresponded with civilians in Ukraine during the initial days of Russia’s invasion,  and she documented the surprising multiculturalism of Boone County schools. Her insights, her knowledge of the community, and her storytelling skill will be missed.
 
Nancy is survived by her siblings Mary Daly of New York City, Sheila Daly of Erlanger, Kathy  Daly of Ely, England, Eileen Daly of London, England, and Hugh “Trey” Daly of Chicago, as well as nephews Patrick Whitton, Sean Whitton, Desmond Daly and Griffin Daly, and nieces Hannah Daly and Maya Daly. A brother, James Daly of Union, Ky., died in 2021.

A celebration of her life will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7 at First United Church of Christ, 5808 Glenview Ave. in Cincinnati. Her family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Knight Foundation Press Freedom Center or to Soapbox Cincinnati. Please include "in honor of Nancy Daly" in the comment box.