Clayton Ward McWhorter's Obituary
Obituary
Clayton “Jim” McWhorter – February 24, 1939 – December 24, 2019. Born to Gladys and W.T. McWhorter in Rogers, AR. I had two older sisters and one younger sister. I was probably the youngest kid to ride a pony to school. I rode my pony to the one-room Prairie Creek Country School 1st through 8th grade. I had to swim the White River on my pony to get there. From 1948 to 1962 my family lived at Monte Ne where I ran a concession stand at the amphitheater. I felt like the luckiest boy in NWA because I was the only boy with 120 girls all summer long because of Camp Joyzelle. I graduated from Wentworth Military Academy in 1957 and then graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1962 with a business degree. I was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army where I served 2 years. I loved the Army but my father wanted me to come home and work in the family business, Ozark Supply Company. In 1966 I married Michael (Micki) Sharon Clark and we had two sons, Clay and Mark.
I went into the brokerage business at AG Edwards in 1985 and worked over a span of 31 years there, at Morgan Stanley and Raymond James where I retired in 2016. I had a life-long love of the mountains and my favorite place on earth was NW Wyoming.
People who know me know that I’ve always liked to gamble and for many years my hobby was poker and blackjack. I also loved to travel and had the opportunity to travel to many countries. I met Brenda Neal in 1999 and instantly fell in love. She was my life partner, travel companion and my rock for 20 years. Although I asked her to marry me so many times I lost count, she stood by me through the toughest of times during the last quarter of my life. My love for her couldn’t have been stronger. We spent countless nights with friends and family, laughing, drinking wine and enjoying some of the best meals, cooked by her. To spend my last summer in the mountains of Wyoming, in Jackson Hole, capped the wonderful history of vacations we shared together.
I am preceded in death by my parents, my three sisters Nancy Doughty, Sandra Daughters, and Lynn Mabry. I leave behind my life partner, Brenda, son Clay and wife Juli, son Mark and wife Jennifer, grandchildren Colin and Annalynn, stepchildren Casey Golubieski and husband Chris, Adam Neal and wife Stacey, step grandchildren Tyler and Wesley Neal, two nephews and one niece. I also leave behind many wonderful friends and the best neighbors anyone could ask for, Danny and Sherri Yates.
My only regret is I didn’t live long enough to vote for Donald Trump.
A celebration of life will be held Saturday January 11th, at 2:00 PM at The Chapel at the Creeks in Rogers.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jim’s memory to Open Avenues.
Memories may be shared at Stockdale-Moodyfs.com
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