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Donald E. Vaile, a retired insurance executive and a World War II veteran, died Feb. 7 of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Columbia. He was 93.
The son of Joseph Edward Vaile, mayor of Dixon, Ill., and Matilda Hermann Vaile, a homemaker, Donald Eugene Vaile was born and raised in Dixon, where he swam at the Dixon Memorial Pool in the days when the future president, Ronald Reagan, was a lifeguard, family members said.
He was a 1941 graduate of Dixon High School and was attending St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, when he enlisted in the Army Air Forces. He served in Italy and France as a member of a ground crew.
He attained the rank of sergeant, and his decorations included two battle stars and a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster. He was discharged in 1945.
Mr. Vaile returned to St. Ambrose University, from which he earned his bachelor's degree in 1948. He earned a law degree in 1951 from Loyola University Chicago.
The Morning Sun
He joined the old United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co. in its Dixon office, and after working briefly in its Milwaukee office, was transferred in 1964 to company headquarters in Baltimore.
Mr. Vaile spent most of his career managing a team that worked in contract bonding and on which he developed a reputation as an expert in the field.
The longtime Catonsville resident was an avid Orioles and Ravens fan.
He was a communicant and usher at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Catonsville.
Plans for a private memorial service are incomplete.
Mr. Vaile is survived by his wife of 63 years and high school sweetheart, Kathryn Youngmark; two sons, Ernie Vaile of Baltimore and Donald Vaile of Milwaukee; three daughters, Susan Chiodi of Ellicott City, Amy Ackerman of Mount Washington and Jenny Tyler of Coweta, Okla.; 20 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two other daughters: Laura Baldwin, who died in 2012; and Kathy Rosner in 2013.