With his wife Mary, he traveled widely and was a strong supporter of the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and Municipal Band. The two were fond of opera and attended many performances in Europe and America. He loved gardening and was a private pilot and aircraft owner. He retained a lifelong interest in farming and had business ventures in Plainview, northeast Nebraska, where he had good friends and visited often.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 59 years, Mary. Survived by sons Eric, PhD (Carol Frost, PhD) of Laramie, Wyoming and their children Charles and Ellen; Hoyt, MD (Catharine) of Sunfish Lake, Minnesota and their children Elizabeth, Will, and John (Natalie); and daughter, Nancy (Gregory Gordon, MD) of Omaha, Nebraska; great-grandchildren Jack and Vivian Nye.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, 233 S. 13th St, Suite 1702, Lincoln NE 68508 to support the William & Mary Nye Principal Oboe Chair; or to the Plainview Library Foundation, PO Box 728, Plainview, NE 68769.