DECEMBER 17, 1947 – AUGUST 17, 2021
I’ll be flying with the eagles. – Ron Vail
Ronald Gene Vail, 73, of Wellington passed away August 17, 2021. Ron was born December 17, 1947 in Emporia, Kansas to Robert G. and Cleone M. Vail. Ron was the eldest of three brothers and the family soon moved to Laramie, Wyoming.
Growing up in Wyoming and spending time with family camping and fishing in the nearby woods and streams gave Ron a lifelong passion for the mountains, and the peace he found there. Soon, the family relocated to Fort Collins where Ron attended Fort Collins High School, graduating in 1965. He met his lifelong sweetheart, Bonnie Bailey, and in 1968 they were married and moving themselves to Oklahoma. It wasn’t long before the new family was set to grow. In 1970, son Wade was born. After three more years of Oklahoma life, it was time to relocate back to Fort Collins. Shortly after coming back, son Brandon was born in 1974.
Ron spent 17 years working for Ideal Cement Co. in Laporte, CO, holding various positions from laborer to control room technician. After leaving, Ron tried various other interests and jobs until finding one that really fulfilled him. He worked as a Head Custodian at various elementary schools for Poudre School District for many years. He always enjoyed being around the children and their happiness. It always made him smile and kept him very happy until his retirement in 1997.
Ron pursued many other interests in the following years. A common thread among all of them was his constant positivity and love for all. Ron was many things: a perpetual dreamer, lover, poet, writer, avid reader, traveler, connoisseur of both classic rock-n-roll and country music, salesman, showman, chocoholic, fisherman, father, husband, brother, son. He appreciated honesty in others and was able to engage people of all types, ages and flavors with an open mind and an open heart. Never one to shy away from the occasional conspiratorial conversation, he often postulated theories that others just couldn’t grasp, thinking him just a bit outlandish. But that was how he liked being, a little on the edge.
Ron is survived by his wife, partner, sweetheart and constant companion, Bonnie Vail. They have been together through thick and thin, and he had nothing but the greatest love in the universe reserved for her. Also surviving Ron are his two sons, of whom he was extremely proud: Wade and wife Bernadette, of Fort Collins, and Brandon and wife Katherine, of Longmont, CO. He has grandchildren, Amanda of Erie, CO; Sydney, Lylah and Viggo of Longmont, CO; Christina of Fort Collins; Sarah and Jesyca of Ferndale, WA; Matthew and Tricia of Fruitland, ID; also, three great-grandchildren, Jackson, Josephine (Joey), and Charlie.
Additional surviving family: Mother, Cleone Vail of Fort Collins, CO; Brother, John and wife Jan of Fort Collins; Brother, Rory and wife Deb of Grimes, Iowa; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Ron was preceded in death by his father, Robert, and Mother- and Father-in-law Rhodabelle and Roy Bailey.
A remembrance and memorial service will be arranged and announced by the family at a later time. Friends and loved ones are invited to visit the www.resthavencolorado.com site and leave notes and memories of Ron.
A special note of thanks to the team at Pathways Hospice, and Columbine West Health & Rehab facility for taking such care and attention to ensuring that Ron was comfortable and treated with respect. They are very special teams of people that work very hard.
