Class News
Nick von Baillou ’64 memorial service on November 6, 2021
October 28, 2021
Vivienne von Baillou, the surviving spouse of Nick von Baillou ’64, sent a lovely memorial card announcing a service on November 6, 2021. You can see the memorial card by clicking its image below. Its contents are transcribed below the image. You can read more about Nick by viewing his remembrance page.
Please join us in remembrance of
Capt. Nicolaus Alexander Freiherr von Baillou
Saturday, the 6th day of November
at 1:00 in the afternoon.
St. George Catholic Church
7240 Scottsville Road
Scottsville, VA 24590
Reception to follow at:
1644 Dudley Mountain Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” John 11:25-26
CHILDHOOD
Nicolaus Alexander Freiherr von Baillou was born into Austrian aristocracy on June 19, 1942, in Neutitschien, Germany, the firstborn of Baron Karl von Baillou and Baroness Angela. Nick came to America by way of Czechoslovakia amidst the chaos of World War II. Angela stowed her two children in the hold of a passenger ship, and they entered the United States in 1949 by way of Ellis Island. The von Baillou family eventually settled in Virginia, where Nick attended boarding school at Salisbury in Connecticut on scholarship.
CAREER
Nick attended Yale University, paying his way mostly with scholarships and summer jobs. He was a member of DKE, involved with the Ring and Candle senior society, and was an oarsman. After graduation, he would continue to row competitively. Nick was then awarded an MBA from Columbia University. Drafted the day he graduated, Nick served 3 years on active duty in the Navy and stayed in the Naval Reserve for 26 years. Captain von Baillou had five commands under his belt. Simultaneously, Nick built a successful consulting company specializing in manufacturing operations in the aerospace, automotive, energy, and electronics industries. His career came with the privileges of traveling and living all over the world. Nick’s professional successes were outdone only by his personal accomplishments: the births of his two daughters, first Victoria, and then Alexandra five years later. After his retirement in 2006, Nick relocated to Florida. He had developed a keen interest in equestrian sports. Nick wed the love of his life, Vivienne, who shared his passions for fitness, world travel, horses, and most of all, raising Victoria and Alexandra, and they went on to build the life of their dreams together in Alabama.
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” – Thessalonians 4:13-14.
REMEMBERED BY
“Nick was the most interesting man I have ever met. His stories were fascinating and always interesting. I loved how he looked you right in your eyes as you talked to him… like you were the most important person at the moment.” — the Coggins family
“Nick possessed lovely characteristics of our Father in heaven.” — Angela Owen
“He was a mentor in business to me and an overall great friend. His stories were always “terrific!” A word he would use often. He was always the encourager. He always used words like “wonderful!” “fantastic!” “terrific!” From the flannel shirts, jeans, and rawhide gloves you would wear in the gym, to the Dakota truck that you would back into the spot with Tommy and Rudi in the back. And of course people would ask “Whose dogs?” And you would laugh and say something clever. Always the charmer.” — Nate Fuller
“At school I knew Nick as a tall, lanky, boisterous boy. At our 25th reunion, a group of us was sitting on a blanket in the courtyard catching up. He was chatting away with familiarity but didn’t sound or look as anyone I could remember. I was having a conversation with a physically powerful, quite bald man with great presence and a familiar twinkle in his eyes. With Nick’s departure, a strong light has been extinguished.” — Skip Pohl
“Nick was a complex, brilliant man. He read the WSJ daily, making notes of passages he wanted to discuss with anyone who stopped by. Though he kept company with some of the most accomplished people of this generation, he remained kind, humble, appreciative, and genuinely interested in everyone around him, taking special care of those who needed it most. Nick was strongly convicted, fiercely loyal, and deeply committed to his faith, in Bod, family, and country.” — Krista C.
Nick is survived by his wife Vivienne, his daughters Ali and Victoria, his sister Astrid, and his brothers Charles and Andrew.
“Perhaps what really matters is not an inconsequential end but rather the wondrous experience of an open world and the freedom to choose our path.” — Nick