Ronald James Nail

Ron was born on May 5, 1959, in Lamesa, Texas, to Jimmy and Elaine Nail. Following time in Brownfield, Texas, Ron moved to Lubbock in 1970 and graduated from Coronado High School in 1977. Ron attended Texas A&M University, where he played drums in the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band. He continued his education and graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Agricultural Economics in 1982. Ron later graduated with a Master’s in Education (and his Aggie Ring) from Texas A&M in 2017.

Ron met the love of his life, Angi Nail, while attending Coronado High School. Ron and Angi married on June 5, 1982, in the chapel at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock. They were married for 43 years at the time of his passing.

Following early work with First Federal Bank, where Ron began his IT career, he also worked at Bates-Wells. An Eagle scout, Ron also worked as a District Executive with the Boy Scouts of America. Ron found his career home of 26 years at Texas Tech University, where he worked in Information Systems, Institutional Research and Information Management, Technology Education, and eLearning and Academic Partnerships. He served as the President of the Staff Senate from 2008-09.

A trip to California’s wine country launched an exciting pursuit of education in wine, which lasted through the later part of his career and well into retirement. Also during retirement, he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Angi traveling the country and the world, including trips to Italy and the Bordeaux region of France. Some of their best recent memories were at the beach house! In addition to wine education, Ron loved cycling, watching football, classic rock, and his two puppies, Rockit and Rocksanne.

A member of the Methodist Church for over forty years, most recently at Wolfforth Methodist Church, Ron loved his God and Jesus. He served the Church devoutly all his life, regularly serving as an usher and teaching the T.H. Holmes and Challengers Sunday school classes.

Ron loved his family and friends dearly and spent his life being the best husband, father, Papa Bear, uncle, and friend. Ron is preceded in death by his parents Jimmy and Elaine Nail, and he is survived by loving wife Angi, brother Danny Nail, son Justin and wife Elena, daughter Lindsay Woodard and husband Ronnie, and two grandchildren, Wesley and Ellie Woodard. He was also blessed with a loving extended family, including nephew Christian Nail and “The Bakerfest.”

A celebration of life will be held at the Wolfforth Methodist Church at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, January 16, 2026. Family and friends are invited to gather for visitation from 6:00–8:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, 2026, at Lake Ridge Memorial Chapel. Memorials are suggested to the Habitat for Humanity, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and Wolfforth Methodist Church.

For the Aggies (and Aggie supporters), contributions may be made in honor of Ron through the Corps of Cadets Association, 1134 Finfeather Road, Bryan, Texas 77803-3823. Contributions should note they are made in honor of Ronald James Nail '81, Texas Aggie Band.