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Nathan Vail Obituary
He was born on September 28, 1949 in Los Angeles, California. He lived until the age of 6 on the Vail family's Pauba Ranch in Riverside County. His family then moved to La Canada, California in order to secure schooling for him and his brother Tim. Nathan was a thoughtful and sensitive, as well as highly intelligent individual. He continually pursued an academic life, with a great love for the classics and classical music. He attended a rigorous private school, Polytechnic School, in Pasadena, California from 1961-1967, whereupon he entered Columbia University in the fall of 1967. He converted to Catholicism from the Episcopal Church in 1988, because (in his words) "the Catholic Church seemed to me to take Christianity more seriously than other denominations."
He entered the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) in Wigratzbad, Germany and was ordained priest in June of 1994. He was named rector of Our Lady of Guadeloupe Seminary (OLGS) in Elmhurst, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1997.
He then went to complete his undergrad and graduate degrees at CCNY and Fordham University in New York City. From 2000-2011 he was employed in various teaching stints at Westridge School (Pasadena, California), OLGS (PA), Chavagnes (France), Stepinac High School (Carmel, NY). From 2011-2012 he was posted to Christchurch in New Zealand by FSSP. In 2014 he was granted dispensation from the clerical state because (again in his words) "Going for the priesthood was the most serious thing I had ever done, and renouncing it was very painful... But I could no longer honestly speak for the Church..."
He married Andres Lopez in 2014 and though they separated in 2020 they remained close friends.
He is survived by his brother, Timothy Betts Vail, DVM, of Santa Barbara, California, and by his sister, Diana Vail and her husband Jack Rainey of Burgau, Portugal, and by his niece, Vail Rainey of Lisbon, Portugal, and by his nephew, Max Rainey of London, England, and by Max's family, Noemie Job of London, England and Elliott Rainey of London, England, and by his estranged spouse, Andres Lopez of Harbor City, California.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Hollywood, California
There will be a memorial Service to honor Nathan on:
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 7:30 pm Saint Thomas the Apostle Church, 7501 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, California, 99046
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Nathan Vail
5 Entries
Audrey Cocon
February 27, 2026
My condolences to the Vail family. Terry Cocon
Márcio
November 13, 2025
He brought beauty and meaning into my life with his brilliance, grace, and quiet strength. The time we shared was a precious gift - one that continues to fill my heart with gratitude and love. Though he now rests in eternal peace, his spirit remains a part of me, living gently in every memory and every prayer. That chapter of our lives will forever remain in my heart.
With love,
Marcio
Whitney Wilkinson
October 22, 2025
Gone too soon. Rest in peace.
David Murphy
August 4, 2025
I am glad that we knew each other for 50 years, good friend, beginning at Columbia. I shall miss you. I have messages that you wrote about German music on July 2. I treasure especially your many contributions to the students and to us fellow faculty at St. Hilda's & St. Hugh's School. Sit levis tibi terra.
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GM
August 3, 2025
God rest you, Nathan.
I knew Nathan as Fr Vail, the chaplain in Chavagnes International College (Vendee, France) when I was a student. He was a very kind and thoughtful man, and a great school chaplain. He taught me Latin when I was 16 and I was utterly hopeless at it. I went from his VIth form class straight down to the IVth form class, and then as I couldn't very well be put in an even more junior class, my weekly Latin lesson became personal tuition from the chaplain in the school library. I was a terrible student: not at all interested in Latin, I think I made polite but ineffectual efforts at noun declensions on the chalk board, while trying to get Fr Vail to discuss boxing, English rugby or American gun law. These tactics were surprisingly ineffective, and Nathan would patiently bring me back to the Latin. Frustrated, one day I pointed out he was wasting his time as I didn't want to learn Latin, and he explained that I had to learn Latin to the best level I could, as we had mass in Latin and the choir sang in Latin - the whole school attended daily mass and the whole school sang in the choir - so the whole school learned Latin. I disagreed with this conclusion and Fr Vail, only mildly exasperated, asked "well what do you want to learn, Greg? But it has to be in Latin". So I asked him if he would teach me how to serve the old mass - I was the only senior boy who didn't know how and this was a slight dent in my pride. And so he did: we spent my weekly lesson first in the chapel learning the responses and actions, and then back to the library to comprehend the Latin.
God rest him. He was a kind and intelligent man and a good teacher with a fun sense of humour and a gentle manner; so that although he was a figure of authority he still had 'the common touch' and he was very popular with the students. I have lots of memories of his kindness - more than I could record here.
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