Tributes

Pawley’s Island, South Carolina - July 25, 1927 - April 4, 2016 - A supreme gentleman with a tender heart, Curtis A. (Buck) Clayton was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and a positive, uplifting force for all who knew him. He was the middle son of Graham and Charlotte Clayton of Portsmouth, Virginia, and growing up in the Tidewater, his love of the sun and water came natural to him. And that meant fishing and catching crabs and boating on the Elizabeth River. In his early years, Buck — as he was known all his life — showed an athletic prowess that took him from gridiron captain and three-sports athlete at Woodrow Wilson High School to baseball letterman at Virginia Tech. After serving in the Army Security Agency, he met the love of his life, Betty Cook Clayton. Their relationship got off to an explosive start at Hercules Powder Company in Radford, Virginia, and the fuse continued to burn for the 64 years of their marriage. It was Betty who encouraged him towards his Master’s in Hospital Administration from the Medical College of Virginia. His long career as a hospital executive extended from the University of Virginia hospitals in Charlottesville, to West Florida Hospital in Pensacola, to Hospital Corporation of America Division Vice-President in Richmond. So expert were his gifts in health care management — and in building relationships across the spectrum — he was sought out as interim CEO for more than a dozen hospitals across the country, including an international position in Rome, Italy. His staff there related that his favorite word was “grazie”, and his simplest but greatest management gift was to show appreciation and inspire all caregivers from housekeeper to nurse to physician. This human touch became Buck’s trademark, both in his work and his family life. All who worked with Buck knew his priorities; family was everything to him. For his three children, Debbie and Mark and David, he provided the strongest example of loyalty and unselfishness, as in his commitment to his parents, his mother-in-law Julia and his Aunt Louise. His example carried over to his faith, in leadership roles in the Methodist Church. His three children remember an affectionate father who laughed heartily, even at this own expense during nautical misadventures that thankfully dealt him only minor injury to both body and ego. His twelve grandchildren and one great-grandchild received his affection in abundance. In playful games of hide-and-seek, it was typical to hear him making chirping sounds in the bushes. Buck loved to tell his granddaughters how smart and pretty they were and loved to indulge in root beer floats and french fries with his grandsons. Each received the ultimate encouragement from their grandfather, who always believed the best in them. What also endears Buck to his family is the way he enjoyed the variety and beauty in life. He could sit outside in the sun reading his biography of George H.W. Bush in the morning, and in the evening sit with Betty to watch Wheel of Fortune. Early on he had loved dancing with Betty to Big Band standards. Later in life, he loved following high school and collegiate athletics — UVA and Virginia Tech were favorites — and his remarkable memory was seen in his recall of player backgrounds and statistics. Buck’s sensitive appreciation for beauty was also remarkable, whether it was for the dunes and surf at Pawley’s, or classical music, or the sight and sound of birds and rain. His children have received this legacy of appreciation for the wonder of life. Buck Clayton is survived by his wife Betty and his three children, Debbie, Mark and David, along with his grandchildren Lindsay, Elizabeth, Amanda, Matthew, Bud, Meagan, David, Laurin, Noah, Sydney, and Chelsea, and his great-grandchild Georgia. We all will miss his loving, joyful presence but will be comforted by memories of his remarkable life. A celebration of his life will be held at Pawley’s Island Community Church on Saturday, April 9 at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Save the Children, 501 Kings Highway East, Suite 400, Fairfield, CT 06825. Please designate on your check the Stephen Patrick Clayton School built in Mali, Africa the school which was built in memory of Buck’s grandson. Sign an online guestbook at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com/obituaries Goldfinch Funeral Home, Beach Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Tributes

Curtis A. "Buck" Clayton

July 25, 1927 - April 4, 2016