Clayton Wamsley

Clayton Bryson Wamsley, 90, passed away on Thursday, December 20, 2018, succumbing to various ailments of advancing age. Clayton was born on February 25, 1928, in Garden City Utah, son of Isaac Hyrum Wamsley and Mabel Linford Wamsley.

Clayton was the third of four brothers and had two older sisters. At age 15, he took employment as a ranch hand and laborer in nearby Randolph to help with family finances and be more on his own. In Randolph, and while attending South Rich High School, he met Margaret “Patsy” Hatch. The couple was married on October 4, 1945. That marriage was later sealed in the Logan Temple on November 25, 1964. Patsy and Clayton were inseparable and were married for 63 years. Patsy preceded him in death, passing suddenly on Friday, November 28, 2008.

Clayton worked in several rural communities of northern Utah and southwestern Wyoming as they began their life together. He worked for Stauffer Chemical near Randolph, but eventually took a job with the Utah Department of Transportation, as maintenance supervisor for the Rich County area. He retired from UDOT after 36 years of dedicated work benefitting the residents of the area. The couple made their home on Canyon Street in Randolph and raised four children there.

Along with Patsy, Clayton was father to Margaret Wamsley Jones, Jerry Hatch Wamsley, Jay Clayton Wamsley, and Hal M. Wamsley. At his death, Clayton is grandfather to 23 grandchildren, 61 great-grandchildren, and six great-great grandchildren. He also had numerous step-grandchildren and step-great grandchildren. The love he and his wife had for their progenitors cannot be measured. He was preceded in death by all of his siblings, his wife Patsy, his daughter Margaret and two of her sons.

Clayton was a high priest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He had served in several callings in the Randolph Ward and Randolph Second Ward, including Ward Clerk and faithful home teacher. He was an ordinance worker in the Ogden Temple with his wife for several years. All four of his children were able to serve full-time missions.

Clayton enjoyed hunting, fishing, searching for arrowheads, and many other outdoor activities. He was quick to help friends and associates with haying, transporting and weighing cattle, branding, or other activities common to the Randolph area. He was a faithful supporter of Rich High School activities, especially following and enjoying the girl’s basketball and volleyball programs later in his life.

Clayton struggled with health issues as he aged, but mostly struggled with a decade of missing his sweetheart. He eventually left his home in Randolph and spent the remaining months of his life in an assisted living center in South Ogden, Utah, where he was cared for primarily by son Hal and granddaughter Brianna.

A funeral service for Clayton Bryson Wamsley will be held Friday, December 28, at noon, in the Randolph Ward Tabernacle. There will be a viewing beginning at 10 a.m. Friday before the service, with burial following in the Randolph Cemetery.