On Sept. 13, longtime Malibu resident Dana Lenahan Vaill died suddenly. At her side were her husband, Edward E. (Ted) Vaill and her twin daughters, Sarah and Susan Vaill.
Vaill was born in Los Angeles on Nov. 29, 1942, and grew up in Atlanta, Ga., where she became a nationally ranked tennis player in her teens. She was a varsity tennis player at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., and a member of Pi Beta Phi, graduating in 1964. She also obtained a master’s degree in education at Cal State Long Beach in 1968, and taught school in Huntington Beach for six years, before retiring to give birth to identical twins in 1972. She and her husband, Edward Vaill, were only expecting one baby, but two were born.
The couple first made their home in Rustic Canyon near Santa Monica, and then in 1974 moved to their current home in Big Rock. In the late 1970s, Dana Vaill entered the real estate field, and sold properties on the West Side of Los Angeles for more than a decade. In the 1990s, she concentrated her formidable organizational talents on running the Southern California Alumni Club of Florida State University, and spearheaded the creation of the Southern California Seminole Club Scholarship for students entering FSU from Southern California. Up to six students currently receive these scholarships each year.
Vaill was an avid athlete, teacher, organizer and activist. She insisted on helping anyone and everyone-with kindness, advice and open arms-for the simple joy of seeing others do well. Her strong spirit and generosity will not be forgotten-she was quick to laugh, quick to listen, eager to offer solutions and share her pride in her family.
In addition to her husband and daughters, Vaill is survived by her sister, Caryl T. Lenahan, of Sarasota, Fla., and her cherished dogs (‘the boys’) Winston and Ci’Bu.
A memorial service will take place at Saint Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades at 2 p.m. on Oct. 5, followed by a reception and remembrance at the Vaill home in Malibu beginning at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in her memory to the “Dana Vaill/Southern California Scholarship Fund,” c/o Southern California Seminole Club, 8 Artisan Street, Ladera Ranch, CA 92694.
For those unable to attend the memorial service, the family requests written remembrances of Vaill’s life be e-mailed to her family at TEDVAILL@AOL.COM.