Nancy Lou Colley

Nancy L. Colley passed away peacefully on December 28, 2024, at the age of 90. We warmly invite friends and family to join us for a Celebration of Life on March 22, 2025, at 2 PM in the Bridgeport Church of Christ, 314 7th Street, Bridgeport, NE with Pastor Jonathan Seng officiating. Graveside services will follow at the Oregon Trail Cemetery. We welcome everyone back to the church to share memories and stories over a meal. It is respectfully requested that in lieu of any flowers, memorials in Nancy's honor be made in care of the Highland Park Care Center, Memory Support in Alliance, NE. Online condolences may be made by viewing Nancy's memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com. Bridgman Family Funeral Home in Bridgeport is entrusted with arrangements.
Born on May 20, 1934, in Bridgeport, Nebraska, she was the oldest daughter of Helen Grier Winters and Hubert Hamilton Winters.
Raised on a farm near Bridgeport, Nancy graduated from Broadwater High School in 1952. It was during her school years that she met Richard L. "Dick" Aurich, whom she married in 1953. Together, they had five children and built a life that eventually led them to Nevada in 1966.
Nancy later worked at the Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Base in Nevada, where she met Harold E. "Hal" Colley, the love of her life. They married in 1971 and spent 31 wonderful years together. Nancy and Hal had a passion for stock car racing, with Nancy winning more trophies than Hal, a testament to her competitive spirit. The couple later ventured into trucking, traveling, and working together across Nevada, Alaska, and Nebraska. Nancy's trucking career ended after a serious car accident, which, though tragic, led to the discovery and treatment of cancer in her spine. Following her recovery, Nancy dedicated herself to caregiving, providing love and support to her parents in their later years.
Nancy lived in Bridgeport until 2009 before moving to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and later, in 2020 to Alliance, Nebraska, where she spent her final days.
Nancy is lovingly survived by her children Ruth L. Vogt (Castle Rock, CO), Debra L. Shipman (Post Falls, ID), Darlene L. Panas (Bayard, NE), and Ricky L. Aurich (Lake Havasu City, AZ); her stepchildren: Sara Perkins, Sandra Holt, and Susan Wiley; her grandchildren: Michelle Wood, Stephanie Oliver, Kevin Vogt, Nathaniel Smith, Joshua Smith, Stacey Jones, Misty Rosemore, Steven Jones, and Jeremy Hume; 12 great-grandchildren; 7 great-great-grandchildren; and her sister Marlene Ulrich.
Nancy was preceded in death by her parents, Hubert and Helen Winters; one son, Richard Lee Aurich Jr.; her husbands, Harold "Hal" Colley and Richard L. "Dick" Aurich; and four sons-in-law, Steve Jones, Sr., Tim Lawton, Roger Cunha, Sr., and Jim Vogt.
The family extends heartfelt gratitude to the caregivers at Highland Park Care Center, Memory Support, for their loving care of Nancy in her final years.