Nancy E. Hanger

1947 - 2025

Nancy E. Hanger

January 27, 1947 - April 23, 2025

Nancy E. Hanger, 78, passed away after a brief illness on Wednesday, April 23, at Firelands Hospital in Sandusky with family and friends by her side. She was born to Donald and Jean (Tippett) Hanger in Cleveland, OH, on January 27, 1947. A 1965 graduate of Shaw High School, she attended Miami University, graduating with a degree in Physical Education in 1969. That same year, she was hired to teach Physical Education and coach cheerleading at Clyde High School.

Known fondly as Coach Hanger, her lasting impact on generations of Clyde-Green Springs School District young women cannot be overstated. Before establishing the Clyde Fliers girls sports teams, she sponsored the Girls Athletic Association (GAA), providing after-school access to athletic equipment and facilities for hundreds of girls, and thereafter founded the girls varsity volleyball, basketball, and track & field programs.

At retirement in 2002, she had tallied 530 volleyball wins and dozens of conference, sectional, district, and regional championships. Her pioneering achievements and successes in girls sports led to state and national recognition by her peers, including the 2002 induction into the Ohio High School Volleyball Association Coaches Hall of Fame and a Sports Illustrated feature in 2000 for reaching 500 career wins.

Coach Hanger was a friend and mentor to countless students and community members. In her retirement she served on the Board of Trustees for the Clyde Public Library and was a founding member and president of the Communities for the Arts.

Coach Hanger was surrounded by the love of her family, including her siblings and cousins. She is survived by her brothers, Tom (Cherie) Hanger of Cleveland Heights, Rick (Dorothy Olivier) Hanger of Pueblo, CO; as well as her nieces, Jody (Chris Hannauer) Hanger of Champaign, IL; Megan (Matt Albers) Hanger of Shaker Heights, OH; and their children. Coach Hanger also leaves behind a host of close friends, neighbors, former students, and colleagues who were like family to her. Always ready for a little bit of mischief, friendly competition, and laughter, she had the uncanny ability to bring people together, for fun, for change, and for community.

Please feel encouraged to share your memories of Coach Hanger and upload photos to her memorial page. In celebrating her life, we pay tribute to a remarkable woman whose impact on the lives of those fortunate enough to know her was profound and lasting.

Memorial gifts in her honor may be made to the scholarship fund established by Coach Hanger in honor of her parents, with an award granted annually to an outstanding Clyde High School Athlete. Gifts should be sent to Project Excellence, Clyde-Green Springs Schools, 106 South Main Street, Clyde, OH 43410. Please indicate the Don and Jean Hanger Scholarship Fund in the check memo. Additionally, gifts may also be made to Clyde Fliers girls volleyball. Gifts should be sent to Flier Boosters, Inc. - Attn: Volleyball and mailed to the above address.

A celebration of Coach Hanger's remarkable life will be held on Sunday, July 27, 2025, 1-3 p.m., in the Nancy E. Hanger Gymnasium at Clyde High School.

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