Lloyd C. Nail

Lloyd Clifford Nail, 78, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 26, 2024, at the VA Medical Center Hospice in Des Moines, Iowa.

Lloyd was born February 27, 1946 to Everett and Ruby (Greiner) Nail in Ames, Iowa. He grew up in Blairsburg and Jewell, Iowa before attending Iowa State University. While earning his BS in Agriculture Business in 1968, Lloyd also completed the ROTC program achieving the rank of 2nd Lieutenant before beginning his military service in Vietnam from 1969 - 1970 and the reserves until 1974. As a decorated member of the U.S. Army 1st Cavalry and 1st Infantry Divisions, Lloyd earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant while building runways for the Air Mobile Unit along the Cambodian border when serving with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

After returning from Vietnam, Lloyd worked as a stock broker with Merrill Lynch before eventually beginning a 30-year career in disaster relief with Pilot Catastrophe Services Inc. in Mobile, Alabama. During Lloyd’s catastrophe employment, he traveled coast to coast helping people as they survived hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires and more. He especially enjoyed working in Florida and Napa Valley, California.

Between natural disasters Lloyd loved spending time with his family. He especially adored his granddaughter Nora and loved their time together. He also enjoyed a variety of hobbies to keep him busy such as building furniture and using his lathe to make bowls and pens. He made all of his office furniture and would often give away special engraved pens as a way of saying thanks to family, friends, and good samaritans. In his retirement, Lloyd also enjoyed collecting classic cars and taking them to car shows. His favorite cars were Datsuns, Chevy Impalas, and Ford Mustangs.

Lloyd is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Vicki Mielak Nail; his son, Matthew (Jaclyn) Nail; granddaughter, Nora; siblings, Shirley (Roger) Kjellberg and Karen (Frank) Gibbs; many nieces, nephews and cousins; sister in-law, Cindy (Bob) Beattie; and brother in-law, Greg (Debbie) Mielak.

Lloyd was preceded in death by his parents, Everett and Ruby (Greiner) Nail; brother in-law, Randy Willis; and sisters-in-law, Joan Sutton and Doris Mielak.

Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at Hamiltons on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines. Interment will take place at 11:00 a.m. Thursday, August 8 at Iowa Veterans Cemetery, 32024 Veterans Memorial Dr. in Adel, Iowa.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Wounded Warriors, Doctors Without Borders or a charity of your choice.

Many thanks to Dr. Emily Brugioni and her team at Mission Cancer and Blood and the Hospice Care team at the VA Medical Center for their care and compassion during Lloyd’s final days.

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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