Nathan Oyler Reynolds

1933 - 2019

May 12, 1933 - June 24, 2019 Nathan O. Reynolds (Nat) passed away in his sleep on June 24, 2019 in Ojai, California, with his wife of 15 years, Laura Loebe Reynolds, by his side. He was 86 years old. Nat was born on May 12, 1933 in Los Angeles. He attended Harvard School in North Hollywood, graduating in 1951 and excelling in football and wrestling. His most happy childhood memories were visiting his Uncle Telfer's farm in Canada. Nat's high school headmaster, the Rev. William Scott Chalmers, encouraged him to attend college. He did: UCLA for a brief while, then two years in the Army, then back to UCLA (B.A. History, 1959) where he truly fell in love with learning and particularly admired Professors Donald B. Meyer and Page Smith. At UCLA, he met Sallie Gilmore and they were married – for over 30 years – and had three children (Greg, Adam, and Elizabeth). After UCLA, Nat spent one year at Johns Hopkins University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. He then returned to L.A. (1960) to teach at his alma mater, Harvard School (1960 – 1966). Nat's 10th Grade English classes soon took on a legendary status and to this day a decade of Harvard School students refer to his classes as life-changing. In 1966, he was appointed headmaster of Westlake School. He brought wonderful progressive changes to Westlake (1966 – 90) and helped effect the merger with Harvard School: 1990 – 1992. Nat then did two consulting projects: four years at Chadwick School (1993 – 97) and then helped found Shalhevet High School (1997 – 2004) where he met Laura Loebe. They were married in 2004 and moved to Ojai, where he was Head of The Monica Ros School in 2004-2006. The last few years presented Nat with many physical setbacks which he and Laura managed with grace and dignity. For many, Nat was a larger than life figure; he was, as Melville said of a character, "Quite an original." Nat was preceded in death by his mother, Dorris, and his sister Jean. A Celebration of Life is planned for September 8, 2019 at the Harvard-Westlake campus.