She was a granddaughter of the chief editorial writer for the Baltimore Sun, Edward Spencer.
She married Harold H. Cecil in 1925, with whom she had two sons but the union ended in divorce.
Once her two sons were in school, she returned to Maryland Institute College of Art and earned a fine arts degree, studying with artist Herman Maril.
She and Ellen Wilson co-authored a series of children's books known as the Three Boys series, about the adventures of the fictional triplet boys: Abercrombie, Benjamin and Christopher.
[1] Nan Hayden Agle died at the age of 100 at her home in Sykesville, Maryland, following a fall.