ELMON MAXWELL CLAY
1884-1950
     
FUNERAL RITES HERE AT FIRST METHODIST
   
Elmon Maxwell Clay departed this life on November 7, 1950, at his
residence in Paintsville, Ky. He was born on September 1, 1884, and
resided at Paintsville practically all his life. He was the son of
Sarah Virginia Walker Clay and George Henry Clay, early residents of
this section.
  
Mr. Clay was united in marriage on December 5, 1905, to Carolyn
Vaughn, daughter of George Bascomb and Louise Davis Vaughan. He is
survived by his widow, Carolyn Vaughan Clay and his children,
Lorraine Clay Wiley of this city, Sarah Clay Womack of Carisle, Ky.,
E. Maxwell Clay and Jane Clay Bailey, all of this city. He is also
survived by two sisters, Mrs. W.S. Ealey of Philadelphia, Penn., and
Miss Sally Clay of Paintsville. He also had two brothers that
preceeded him in death, the late Lloyd Clay of Paintsville,
Kentucky, and Wade Clay of Ashland, Kentucky.
  
Mr. Clay began his professional and business career in 1902, at
which time he was engaged as a Civil Engineer for the late John C.C.
Mayo of this city and later in the same capacity for the Northern
Coal and Coke Company, The Consolidation Coal Company, and the
Southeast Coal Company. He was also a stockholder in and manager for
the Beaver Elkhorn Coal Company, with extensive holdings in and
around Buckingham on Left Beaver Creek in Floyd County, Ky.
  
Mr. Clay was also chief City Engineer for Paintsville when the
streets were first paved many years ago, and was also City Engineer
when the streets of Stafford Addition to Paintsville were recently
paved under his supervision.
  
Mr. Clay was formerly actively engaged in the oil business in this
section and as such was manager of the Clabron Oil Company with
extensive holdings in and around Oil Springs, Ky.
  
Probably the business venture in which he took the greatest pride
was the establishment of the Carolyn Clay Shoppe, located on Court
Street in Paintsville, which developed into and is yet one of the
outstanding suppliers of women's wear in this section. This
establishment was owned and operated by Mr. Clay and his family for
some eleven years before they sold out to the present owners.
  
Mr. Clay was particularly proud of his membership in the First
Methodist Church of Paintsville, where he was for many years a loyal
and consistent member, and never missed attendance at church
services, prayer meeting services, and the other auxiliaries of the
church except when forced to do so by illness or other conditions
over which he had no control.
  
He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and as such was a Shriner in
that organization. Paintsville and this entire section have, in the
death of Mr. Clay, lost one of their most valuable and efficient
citizens. In addition to his ability and integrity as a member of
his profession and business organizations, he was, as an individual
and member of society in this section, one of the ablest and most
proficient citizens this country has produced over a period of more
than a generation, and as such has left his "footprints on the sands
of time" and contributed much to the upbuilding of the various
institutions of this part of the state, of which his fellow citizens
are the beneficiaries. He had an abiding faith in the fundamentals
of the Christian religion.
  
Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Clarence W. Krebs at the
First Methodist Church, Thursday, November 9, (1950), at 2:00 p.m.
  
Active pallbearers were W.A. Toney, M.D. Bailey, W.C. Bailey, John
Jett, J.E. Radcliffe and James E. Garnett.
  
Honorary pallbearers were Fred Howes, C.F. Walters, G.E. Clark, E.J.
Evans Dr. P.B. Hall, Dan Wheeler, John Wheeler, Judge James W.
Turner, Cyrus Cooper, L.A. Jennings, Frank Chandler, T.C. Preston,
Huntington, W.Va. and W.B. Bailey.
  
Burial was in the Mayo Cemetery under the direction of the Jones
Funeral Home.
  
Paintsville Herald
Thursday
November 16, 1950
    
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