This paper has confirmed reports of the passing of the former First Lady of Liberia, Nancy B. Doe, widow of slain Liberian President Samuel Kanyan Doe. Family sources disclosed on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, that Madam Doe passed peacefully after a protracted period of illness.
Nancy was born in 1949 in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County. She moved to Monrovia in the 1960s, where she worked as a merchant. She married Samuel Doe, who was in the Liberian Armed Forces, in either 1968 or 1969. Together, they had four children. After Samuel gained control of Liberia in the 1980 coup d’état, Nancy became First Lady.
As first lady, she established a national market women’s association. The Nancy B. Doe Market, in Jorkpeh Town, Sinkor, was established in her honor. In June 1983, during a visit to the United States, Nancy helped establish scholarship opportunities for Liberian students at Chicago State University.
After her husband was executed in 1990, and the First Liberian Civil War began, Madam Doe went into exile. She returned to Liberia after the second civil war, sometime before 2005. Meanwhile, no official statement has been issued by relevant family authorities on the details of what may have led to the passing of the former First Lady, or funeral arrangements plans.
