William Fraser Nagel

William Fraser Nagel, 72, of Boulder, passed away on August 16. Bill was born in Trenton, NJ, the son of William George Nagel and Ethel Marion Forder-Jones Nagel. In Bill’s early years, his family lived in Bordentown and Toms River, NJ; Charleston, WV; and New Cumberland, PA. Proud of his Aussie heritage, a highlight of his childhood was a six-month trip to Australia with his mother and brothers to visit her family. After graduating from Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, PA, Bill went to Swarthmore College, where he earned a History B.A. with Honors in 1972.

For the next five years, he worked as a probation and parole officer in Philadelphia. During vacations and on weekends, he loved hiking and skiing in the mountains of the West. He was on his way across the country with Gannett, his first Bernese Mountain Dog, to begin law school at Lewis and Clark in Portland when his car broke down in Limon, Colorado. The University of Colorado Law School had just gotten to his name on their waitlist that very day, so he stayed and lived in Boulder for the rest of his life. In law school he received the award for Best Oralist in the moot court competition and faculty awards for best contribution to class discussion. At CU, Bill met classmate Joan Friedland when she invited him to join a student volleyball team. They married in 1983 and had two children, Robin and Sam. The Nagel family also always included at least one Bernese Mountain Dog.

Bill’s career as a highly respected attorney was almost entirely in public service aside from four years in private practice. Bill worked for the Boulder County Attorney’s Office from 1978 to 1987, beginning as a law clerk and rising through the ranks to acting County Attorney. He played a major role in drafting zoning ordinances protecting open space, writing a personnel manual, advising the county commissioners, sheriff, assessor, and many other county department heads and county boards.

Bill joined the law firm of Dietze, Davis, and Porter in 1987 where he worked for four years representing title insurance companies and engaging in other aspects of civil practice. The highlight for him was accompanying Peter Dietze to Alaska for an argument in front of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Bill was so pleased to be able to return to Alaska years later for a vacation with family and friends. Bill also started playing Chicago-style (no-glove) softball with the firm and was always proud of their trophy which may still be displayed at Mustard’s Last Stand.

Bill had taken a six-month break from his county attorney work to get trial experience as a Deputy District Attorney in 1983. He later returned to that office in 1991 and continued to work there for seventeen years. He was the Chief Appellate Deputy and eventually Assistant D.A. During his tenure there, he received the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department Citizen Recognition Award in 1994 and received the state-wide Prosecutor of the Year award in 2003. Bill was known for his thorough research, deep knowledge of the law, and principled approach to legal disputes. One of his great interests was elder law. Serving on a committee of the Supreme Court, he helped craft a more comprehensive Elder Abuse statute. Throughout his career and in retirement, Bill taught as an adjunct professor at CU Law School, teaching criminal procedure and legal ethics.

Despite long hours at work, Bill never missed Robin’s soccer, volleyball, and basketball matches; he was equally faithful in attending all of Sam’s theater performances. Bill played in adult soccer and tennis leagues, and played weekly basketball games with fellow attorneys for many years. His main love was being “skipper” of the L’Eagles coed softball team for thirty-four years!

Bill led his family on many hiking, camping, and backpacking adventures. He also loved international travel and favorite destinations included Israel, Cuba, Russia, a trek around Mont Blanc, Kenya and Tanzania. Passionate about civil rights and social justice, Bill and Joanie took a road trip through Mississippi and Alabama stopping at many civil rights sites.

In retirement, Bill volunteered with the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance, hiking the trails in his junior ranger uniform, preserving nature which included advising people to keep their dogs on leashes and trying to keep his own dog on one. For over ten years, Bill was a volunteer long term care ombudsman with Aging Services and recognized as Advocate of the Month. For thirteen years, Bill was on the board of Golden West, a non-profit senior living community in Boulder. He also was part of Congregation Bonai Shalom’s Road Clean-up Crew and, after George Floyd’s tragic murder, a passionate participant in the Response to Racism committee.

Family and friends admired Bill’s caring, compassionate nature. Bill is survived by Joan, his wife of 39 years; his daughter Robin DeForest (Cole) of Seattle; son Sam (Will Connell) of Philadelphia; grandchildren Willow and Sage DeForest; brothers Jack (Barbara) of Swarthmore, PA, and Bob (Pru) of Boulder; and ten nieces and nephews.

Bill passed away due to injuries suffered in a fall attributed to his Parkinson’s Disease. He spent his last few years fighting hard to understand his disease and trying to maintain some hope to get back to a more active lifestyle. His drive for knowledge continues as his brain was sent to UCLA to contribute to Parkinson’s research to hopefully improve the lives of future sufferers of this all-encompassing disease. A service in honor of his life was held August 19 at Congregation Bonai Shalom followed by burial in Mountain View Cemetery. Donations in his memory may be made to the Davis Phinney Foundation, davisphinneyfoundation.org,, the Golden West Foundation (www.gwboulder.org/foundation-senior-living), Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance (www.indianpeakswilderness.org), or to a charity of one’s choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cristmortuary.com for the Nagel family.