Getty Bob and Nan Kingsley pictured at the CMHOF Outlaws and Armadillos VIP Opening Reception on May 24, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Country Music Hall Of Fame & Museum )
Nan Kingsley was Bob Kingsley’s wife of 30 years. On October 17, Bob Kingsley died following a short battle with bladder cancer. He was 80 years old.
Kingsley and his wife, Nan, 67, founded “Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40” and the company KCCS productions in 2006. On her LinkedIn page, Nan Kingsley refers to herself as the owner of KCCS. The countdown was syndicated across more than 300 stations nationwide. On the October 9 episode of the show, Kingsley said that he was taking a break from the show to get treatment for bladder cancer. In his absence, the show has been hosted by a range of guests, including Trisha Yearwood, according to The Boot.
After the announcement of his diagnosis, Kingsley wrote a touching letter to his fans on his show’s website. In the letter, Kingsley mentioned his wife saying that her “strength is unmatched, and she is by my side every step of the way.”
Here’s what you need to know about the love of Bob Kingsley’s life:
1. Bob & Nan Kingsley’s Wedding Song Was ‘There’s No Way’ by Alabama
The couple’s wedding song was “There’s No Way” by Alabama. The band performed the song for the couple at a 2014 celebration of Bob Kingsley’s career in 2014.
According to Bob Kingsley’s official profile on the couple’s website, it says that the pair lived together on the 150-acre Bluestem Ranch in Weatherford, Texas.
Kingsley told the Weatherford Democrat in 2006 that he met Nan at a radio convention in San Francisco in 1983. Kingsley described their meeting as being “pretty much love at first sight. It was August 23. I thought, “I want to meet this girl.”
Facebook/Nan KingsleyNan Kingsley pictured in June 2010.
At the time, Nan was working in selling radio shows into syndication. The pair began dating, long distance. Nan told the newspaper, “It was kind of exciting meeting in Dallas or other cities.” During the interview, it’s noted that when Kingsley easily recalled their wedding date, September 24, 1989, he looked to his wife for approval. The article said that she smiled at him and said, “Very good.”
2. The Couple Was Passionate About the Sport of Cutting
Both Nan and Bob Kingsley were passionate about cutting, the sport of a horse and rider work together before a judge or panel of judges to demonstrate the horse’s athleticism and ability to handle cattle. The couple told the Weatherford Democrat that they chose to move to the city because it is the “Cutting Capital of the World.” Kingsley told the newspaper that the family had five cutting horses.
By 2010, the number had risen to 19 horses, according to a Dallas Magazine feature. Nan said that it wasn’t until her husband got a taste for cutting that he wanted to move to Texas. Nan said, “There was a time in Bob’s life when he didn’t think he could possibly live outside of California. Then he tried cutting, and Texas started calling.” In 1994, Kingsley told the Jackson Clarion-Ledger that the couple first considered relocating from their home in Los Angeles after an earthquake left them with cracks in their walls.
Nan went on to tell the magazine that on one occasion, her husband competed in an event that ran into the early hours of a Sunday morning. Nan said, “He woke me up to show me a $26 check. It was his first win. We framed that check. That’s how happy he was; that’s the passion that’s gotten hold of him. When he’s not thinking about work, he’s thinking about horses.”
Kingsley said of his life in an April 2014 interview with Country Air Check, “I just truly enjoy where I am today. Everything is good with my wife. The dogs are good, the cats are good. The horses are particularly good.”
3. The Couple’s ‘Baby’ Was the Careity Foudnation
GettyKingsley pictured in 2018.
The Kingsley’s both worked with the Careity Foundation, a charity that benefits terminally ill children at the Cook Children’s New Palliative Care Unit. The Weatherford Democrat article referred to the charity as being the couple’s “baby.”
Nan told the newspaper about the charity saying, “I work behind the scenes. He’s the front guy. We saw a good way to use Bob’s abilities and my background.” In 2005, Bob and Nan Kingsley were awarded the Careity Foundation’s humanitarian award in 2005. Nan said of winning the award, “For someone to perceive you as a humanitarian, was quite an honor.”
4. Country Music DJ Blair Garner Has Called Nan Kingsley One of His Mentors
Bob Kingsley moderates Little Big Town talk during the 2014 CRS conference on February 19, 2014 at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 2015, country music DJ, Blair Garner was asked in a Billboard Magazine interview about who his mentor was in radio.
Garner responded by saying, “Bob Kingsley is the man that sets the bar, as far as I’m concerned. He and [wife] Nan have been so gracious in offering me guidance throughout my career, and I just aspire to a small bit of what Bob has achieved in his career and what he has done for our format.”
5. Nan Kingsley Opened a Luxury Spa in Nashville in 2019
GettyBobby Bones (L) and Bob Kingsley (R) arrive at the 11th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 23, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Nan opened a luxury spa in Nashville in February 2019 named the Bluestem Wellness Spa. Nan started the business alongside Nashville-based lawyer, Megan Zarling.
Upon opening the spa, Nan said that she became passionate about the health and wellness industry after the positive experiences she had with therapies, due to the stress of their core business. Nan said, “We have big dreams about where this can go, and those dreams are affirmed by the results we’ve seen during our six month beta test phase in Nashville.”
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