Fanny Lucilla Vail

Former Orient resident Fanny Lucilla Vail of Kalamazoo, Mich., died peacefully June 15, 2014, at Rose Arbor Hospice Residence in Kalamazoo She was 80. 

Fanny was born in Greenport, July 30, 1933, the eldest child of Herbert and Elizabeth Vail. She grew up in Orient and left to attend college at State University of New York in New Paltz, where she graduated with highest honors.

Fanny was an elementary school teacher for many years in New Jersey and Maine. She moved to Michigan in 1979, and later worked as editor of publications for Michigan School Business Officials. In later years, she took on a new challenge, and attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she graduated with honors. She worked at Michigan Court of Appeals as a research attorney and later as an associate attorney with the firm of Russell and Carowitz in Grand Rapids, Mich.

After Fanny retired, she moved to Ocala, Fla. While there, she served as executive director for Keep Marion [County] Beautiful, and was active in Concerned Homeowners in Partnership (CHIP). She returned to Michigan to be near her family soon after her first granddaughter was born.

Fanny had a passion for music. She played piano, and sang in the church choir. She was an avid reader, enjoyed nature, loved to knit, and to spend time with family and friends. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo.

She is survived by two children, Liza Scherff-Nesarikar, of Monmouth Junction, N.J., and Brian Scherff of Paw Paw, Mich.; her grandchildren, Christopher, Tori, Annie, and Veena; and siblings Alice VanBeuzekom and Henry Vail, both of Washington State. She was predeceased by her son Steve Scherff in 2013; her sister Emily Henneman in 2006; and her children’s father, James Scherff, in 1989.

A memorial service will be held Tuesday, July 1, at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Kalamazoo.

This is a paid notice.