William R. Nail Jr.

Dr. William Rogers Nail III passed away July 6 after a protracted illness. Will, or “Doc,” grew up in the Lakewood area of Dallas and was a descendant of the Curbo family from Crawford, Texas. After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School, he attended the University of Texas and graduated from Southern Methodist University with a degree in business. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. During his SMU days he met Mary Sue Gilbert, and they married in 1952. Will attended Baylor College of Dentistry, and served in the U.S. Navy. After fulfilling his military service he opened his own private dental practice in Dallas before taking over his father’s. He later worked for the Job Corps Center in McKinney, earned a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Houston, and worked for the Texas Department of State Health Services for the remainder of his career, first in Uvalde, covering areas south of the Hill Country, then Arlington. He eventually became state dental director for DSHS. He held office in several professional dental associations. He was a runner and athlete, and was passionate about golf. Lakewood Country Club was his home away from home. He survived Willie Nelson’s Fourth of July Picnic in 1980 (the year of the Texas Heat Wave) and loved music of all genres, from the big bands that he and his fellow Lakewood Rat Packers pursued in high school to his all-time favorite, Emmylou Harris. Will made lifelong friends at Woodrow, SMU, Lakewood CC, and everywhere he went, and had many adventures with his famed poker club. Will’s life will be celebrated by his son, Dr. William Rogers Nail IV of West Haven, Connecticut; daughter Nancy Elizabeth Nail Myers and son-in-law David Myers of Dallas; sister Virginia Moore of San Marcos; nieces and nephews Richard A. Gump and his wife Diana of Dallas; Dr. Marilyn Stewart of Dallas; Gina Moore-Eban and her husband Jack Eban of San Marcos; Robert Moore; and the Gump grandchildren and their families: Mary Leslie and Alan Calcote and daughter Allie Marie; Travis and Cynthia Gump and daughter Haleigh Elizabeth; and Jennifer Allison Gump. The staffs of Monticello West and Heart-to-Heart Hospice will be fondly remembered. The family will have a private graveside service. A memorial service will be held at noon on Saturday, July 9 in the chapel at Sparkman/Hillcrest, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy., 214-363-5401.