Nancy Hughes - Storylines

Storylines

She is one of the original characters of the long-running soap, and actually spoke the first line on the debut episode on April 2, 1956 ("Good morning dear, what would you like for breakfast?"). Show creator Irna Phillips modeled Nancy in the mold of a member of a Greek chorus: someone who stays mostly on the sidelines but nevertheless comments on the crises that more dynamic residents of the town faced. In many respects, Nancy's "moral voice" served to further how Phillips wanted certain characters to be perceived by the public. When Nancy spoke out against her son Bob's ex-wife Lisa in the mid-1960s, the Lisa character became, by and large, the character everyone "loved to hate." Likewise, when Nancy forgave Lisa for her past transgressions in the 1970s, public opinion softened toward Lisa and she became a respected character on the program.

Traditionally a housewife, Nancy was bit by the feminism bug in the late 1970s and worked for a time as a secretary. In the early 1980s, she quit that job and returned to keeping house. For the last several years, she has worked as a volunteer at Oakdale Memorial Hospital, at which her son, Bob, is Chief of Staff.

In 1936, she married attorney Christopher Hughes, and they had four children (three of which were seen on the show; a daughter died while swimming in a pool during a thunderstorm before the series started). Chris died in 1986, shortly after he and Nancy celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. After a considerable mourning period, she married Detective Dan McClosky (Chief of the Oakdale Police Department) in 1987. McClosky developed Alzheimer's disease in 1994 and died two years later. She later enjoyed the company of Joe D'Angelo, as the two developed a strong bond over their frustrations at being unable to help their respective offspring with their ongoing problems. Since Det. McClosky's death, Nancy has lived with her son Dr. Bob Hughes and his wife, Kim, and has spent much of her time with her grandchildren. She is particularly close to her grandson Chris.

Nancy is nowadays seen only rarely on the program, averaging about three or four appearances a month when the storyline permits. Unlike other soap actors who have advanced in years (such as Anna Lee and Frances Reid), Helen Wagner has had relatively few health problems, and her lack of appearances on the series were almost solely due to limited storyline. The character made a long awaited appearance at Tom and Margo's 25th Wedding Anniversary on July 2nd, 2008.

Much of her screen time in 2006 finds the character "embroiled in a mystery surrounding the publication of a scandalous novel, "Oakdale Confidential," which sheds light on the checkered pasts of several characters."

In 2009, Nancy was still active and worked as a volunteer at the hospital. On Thanksgiving 2009, she gives pieces of advice to Katie after the death of Brad. Nancy again showed up just after Christmas when she heard of Casey's upcoming marriage to Alison. She gave him the engagement ring that Chris gave her. When the engagement was broken off, the ring was returned to Nancy, but she insisted that Casey hang onto it.

Nancy was on hand in 2010 to celebrate Bob and Kim's 25th wedding anniversary. Nancy and the rest of the family were all shocked to find out that they really weren't married. She helped Bob and Kim settle their recent differences and was delighted when Frannie returned to see them wed. In her final appearance on the series, Nancy is seen having breakfast with Casey and Alison, and yet again giving advice to Katie on coping with Brad's death.

It had originally been planned for Nancy Hughes to have the last scene and last line of the show, since she had the first scene on the show, and the very first line spoken on the program. Helen Wagner's death on May 1, 2010 prevented that from happening. Nancy was quietly written out of the show by having her die in her sleep in her apartment and be found by her son Bob. Episodes that aired August 30 and August 31, 2010 dealt with her death, the former episode featuring the death and the latter serving as a memorial.