Robert "Bruce" Vail was born on October 10, 1949 in Birmingham, AL. After a long, courageous battle with cancer, he passed away with his family by his side on October 16, 2014. Born and raised in Alabama by his parents, Robert B. Vail (deceased) and Mary D. Vail (surviving), he graduated from Tuscaloosa High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama. He married Virginia Kelly and they relocated to Pensacola, FL where they raised three children. After teaching middle school art for 32 years in Escambia County, he retired and pursued his passion for ceramics by opening his studio "Workbench Pottery" and began his career as a full time ceramic artist. As an avid outdoorsman, he found beauty in nature, particularly in aquatic life, and used that as the primary theme of his artwork. He won best of show in ceramics at his first Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival. He also lent his talents to Urban Infill Corporation by fabricating decorative brackets for many custom homes along the Gulf Coast. Bruce truly loved the outdoors. He camped with his daughter at Florida Caverns and enjoyed fishing with his sons and his friends, taking trips with them to the Everglades, Port St. Joe, and Venice, LA. Always busy working with his hands, he was constantly involved in one project or another and had many interests - everything from fishing to hunting to artwork to munitions. He is survived by Mary D. Vail (mother), Virginia (wife), Lindsay Walker (daughter), Chris Vail (son), Alex Vail (son), Stella G. Vail (granddaughter), Nels Walker (son-in-law) and Bonnie B. Vail (daughter-in-law). He is preceded in death by his father, Robert B. Vail. A visitation will be held 10:00am until a Memorial Service beginning at 11:00am Saturday, November 15, 2014 at Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel with Reverend John Shortman officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Coastal Conservation Association Florida (http://www.ccaflorida.org/) or to the American Cancer Society (https://donate.cancer.org/index). If donating to ACS, please denote "restrict to organ sites" so the contribution can be earmarked accordingly.