Friday, December 29, 2017

A JOURNEY

Rob
 Very beautiful Mom. I love this image of Dad's body flowing through the places he loved into the Mississippi to the Gulf, and then blending with the oceans he sailed in his youth. Thank you.

On Nov 13, 2017, at 5:37 PM,
Eleanor Clayton wrote:
I arrived home yesterday (Oct 10) at about 6 PM. I drove from Signal Mountain in about 11 hours. The driving was not as tiring as I expected it to be. I was 3 days on the road and 4 days at Joel's. If she had put me to work in the house and the yard I would have stayed longer but she likes to do everything herself in her own way.
Hugh and Alison are going to build a new, larger home on Signal Mountain. Joel plans to build on the lot next to them. She hasn't told many friends about her plans yet but I suppose it is OK to tell family. They will be moving into a new development in which the homes are constructed by the developer. The date construction will begin has not been determined but the streets are built, the lots are cleared and the underground utilities are laid. I think construction will start on their houses in the first half of 2018.
I enjoyed seeing Clemson and Brevard. Some ashes were spread at the cemetery of the Old Stone Church near the house we owned in Clemson. A relative of Larry's was the first pastor in 1797. I also sprinkled ashes in the gardens on the campus. The next morning I drove to Brevard and had a biscuit at the Burger King Dad and I frequented. I them went into the Pisgah Forest of deliver ashes into the creeks whose waters eventually flow into the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
I found my way to Joel's house by instinct because I had forgotten highway names and landmarks. That was a long day but everything came together as I hoped it would. During my visit Joel fed me well and we did recollecting. I got to visit with Hugh, Alison and Ethan more than I expected to. I'm glad I renewed those family ties which form the foundation of who I am and how I fit into where I come from.

Friday, December 22, 2017

VICTORY SHIP


  Larry on Cuba Victory.

Radio Officer's Cabin of American Victory.

Mark and I visited the American Victory in the Tampa harbor on the way home from the airport yesterday. 

American Victory
American Victory has been upgraded with modern VHF radio and radar (visible on the command deck), and more modern electronics have been added to the electricians' quarters and radio room, but she is generally in her historic form. Her 3-inch bow mounted deck gun is still in place, although demilitarized, as well as the 5-inch stern gun and another 3-inch gun next to it still in place. The mostly volunteer museum "crew" take pride in the fact that she is a fully operational, seaworthy vessel. She usually does about two cruises a year.
Engine Room American Victory
Radio Shack

Lifeboat
Mark Clayton

Larry's ships:

Wood Lake
Sea Dolphin 
Pan York
Drapers Meadow
Cuba Victory


Sunday, December 17, 2017

CHRISTMAS 17


Matthew 2
[13] And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him

Songs of Innocence by William Blake
A Cradle Song
“Sleep sleep happy child.
All creation slept and smil'd.
Sleep sleep, happy sleep,
While o'er thee thy mother weep.  

Sweet babe in thy face,
Holy image I can trace.
Sweet babe once like thee,
Thy maker lay and wept for me

Wept for me for thee for all, 
When he was an infant small.
Thou his image ever see,
Heavenly face that smiles on thee.

Smiles on thee on me on all,
Who became an infant small,  
Infant smiles are his own smiles.
Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.”
 
Visit our blog: http://ramhornd.blogspot.com/or https://sites.google.com/site/blakeprimer/blake-1


Virgin and Child in Egypt by William Blake
from Victoria & Albert Museum, London

 
 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that 
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
First John 4:7-8


FOREVER GRATEFUL,
Ellie
 

LAST SONG

SLIDING ROCK
PISGAH FOREST, NORTH CAROLINA

From the Bio for the Methodists:

Robert Lawrence Clayton's heart took its last beat and he drew his last breath on December 23, 2016. He died in Ocala, Florida after a fall which broke his leg. He had been in the ICU and at Hospice of Marion County for three weeks when he made the final step out of this world into the Great Beyond. His ninety year old heart was not strong enough to sustain him through a slow and arduous recovery. When he was completely ready to go, he left gently and (using some words from William Blake) entered the "immense world of delight" closed to our "senses five". 

______________________

The life had been slowly draining from Larry's body. As Mark and I, his doctor and nurse, stood beside him, his breathing became ragged. This is the song I sang to him as he peacefully exited this world for Great Eternity.

Peace I ask of thee, oh river
Peace, peace, peace
When I learn to live serenely
Cares will cease

From the hills I gather courage
Visions of the days to be
Strength to lead and faith to follow
All are given unto me.

(repeat first verse.)

It was in the Girl Scout Handbook in the 50s.  As I remember it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXk0KF3AXm0

12,000 Girl Scouts Sing America's National Favorites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDuSRyfnR3c 
 

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

TO REBEKAH

Dear Rebekah,

I am sad that you and Mark broke up. You have very much been a part of my family for the last few months. You were so kind and helpful during the last months of Larry's life. You made him smile and feel appreciated.

On the trip to California, besides being our navigator, you related to everyone in your cheerful, enthusiastic way, increasing the happiness for all. Ryan seemed to enjoy your company more than that of anyone else. The trip was a one of a kind, unforgettable event for me. You will always be in my heart for what you did to help me through the sadness of Larry's death.

I pray that you will be able to put the pieces of you life together anew, in a way that uses all your gifts and brings you the happiness you deserve.

Love,
ellie

Friday, September 8, 2017

THANK YOU

This is an e-version of the card I sent  thanking folks for the kindness they had shown to us during the time Larry was departing this life for Eternity. I would have sent you a hardcopy if I had your new address. We are grateful that we can call you friends.

Love,
ellie


RIVER OF LIFE BY WILLIAM BLAKE





Revelation 22
[1] And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
[2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.




William Blake, Vision of Last Judgment The Temple stands on the Mount of God from it flows on each
side the River of Life on whose banks Grows the tree of Life
among whose branches temples & Pinnacles tents & pavilions
Gardens & Groves Display Paradise with its Inhabitants walking up
& down in Conversations concerning Mental Delights 
Here they are no longer talking of what is Good & Evil or of what is Right or Wrong & puzzling themselves in Satans 
Labyrinth But are Conversing with Eternal 
Realities as they Exist in the Human Imagination”

Larry's earthly life extended from March 7, 1926 to Dec 23, 2016. But he is still immersed in the crystal waters of the river of life as he continues his journey to the sea of love and joy where all disputes are resolved, all error forgiven and where we understand even as we are understood.

My desire is to thank all who have supported, encouraged and assisted us as we went through the parting of body from spirit in the last few weeks. Your caring was not restricted to days but extended throughout the years when we have worn this garment of flesh. Our gratitude cannot be expressed in a few words, but we feel it and want you to know how you have blessed us.

_____________

Dear Tim,

This is an e-version of the card I sent  thanking folks for the kindness they had shown to us during the time Larry was departing this life for Eternity. I would have sent you a hardcopy if I had your current address.

 
You and Mary Joseph were the only two outside of his family who visited Larry in the hospital. It meant so much to him to have that conversation with you about real things as he was leaving behind the illusory world. We did not know what he knew nor see what he saw. I hope that he was privy to a vision of the better world whose gate he was soon to enter.   

ROB'S TRIBUTE


ROBERT LAWRENCE CLAYTON
------------------
 
THE SPIRIT OF MY FATHER
Dear Dad,
As you turn ninety, I wanted to write for you about you, especially about the qualities that connect us. These are the qualities that I see in you, that I am proud to see also in myself - your gifts to me. This is my way of thanking you and celebrating those gifts.  

SPIRITUALITY
Spirituality is the foundation, the theme that runs through your life and binds together my story of you. I learned from you to to regard the spiritual life as the true life, the material life as merely the scenery. Your dedication to Christ, your study of Jung, your obsession with Blake - all of these model for me the commitment to and fascination with, the inward journey and your spiritual path.
I've always admired your courage in moving us all to Washington so that we could be part of the Church of the Savior. You saw that spirituality could be deeper and pervade life more thoroughly - you heard a spiritual call, dropped everything, and followed. You showed me that spiritual impulse takes us where we belong.

I have not followed the same path that you have, but I am not sure they are so different ... both are paths of love, paths of compassion, paths of responsibility. You set my feet on this path many years ago, and I thank you.

JUSTICE

I have always felt a profound passion for justice, and I have always traced that passion back to you. You always taught me that Jehovah was the God of the oppressed and that Jesus was the champion of the downtrodden. You taught me that all people are children of God have inherent dignity and worth.

I'll never forget the story of your telling your parishioner about the big black woman who would be singing in the heavenly choir right next to her. It's a funny story, but it was a courageous thing to say, and I bet those courageous stands cost you.

I learned from you to stand up for justice, to stand shoulder to shoulder with my peers for fairness, and most of all to identify with the interest of all who are oppressed. I will be thinking of you when I'm on the picket lines next month.

You taught me to take my spirituality into the world and let it animate a vision of the just society, and I thank you for this wonderful gift.

COMPASSIONATE ACTION

You taught me, too, that vision and abstract justice are not enough, but that we must personally help those who are struggling. When I was a child, I knew that you walked with men who were struggling to escape addiction, and I was proud. When I was older, you humbled yourself and dedicated your time to housing the poor, and I watched with pride. Even now I see you ministering to the sick.

I see my work as a therapist as a direct continuation of your ministry, beloved Dad. I have a client now whom I see three days each week for no fee, and I often imagine him as a new incarnation of one of your old probationers. He has endured forty years of alcoholism and is wracked by terror, and terrible feelings of aloneness. Yet he also shows profound compassion and beauty of spirit, and writes the most beautiful poems. I dedicate my work with him to you, my father, in loving gratefulness for your compassionate example.   

PERSONAL CONNECTION     

Always, I have see you relating to others, connecting spiritually, building community. I remember the meetings you used to have at our house on Jersey Avenue with Miriam, Bob & Olga, Carla & many others, and I learned that all of these passions aren not mere private introspections of abstract musings and commitments, but experiences to be shared with others. I have seen this again and again in your life as you engaged with others through Gateway, Second Step, coffee hour at the C of S, and you own Quaker gatherings. I see the very personal relationships, too, like the one you have built with Paul and Judith. 

I feel a deep kinship with you in this profound valuing of interpersonal connection. My work as a therapist manifests this valuing, as I strive to bring healing through the process of connection, and I have learned from you to strive to deepen connection with those I meet on the path.  
 
THE HERO'S JOURNEY

As long as I have been alive, Dad, I have seen you following your own path. You never made the conventional choice, but always the courageous one, when it was important. Letting spirit be your guide, rather than the values of those surrounding you, has been one of your greatest gifts to me.

Here I return to your decision to follow your calling to move to Washington and become part of the Church of the Savior. I don't think I knew at the time what an unconventional decision that was, but as I grew I began to realize the courage, the commitment and the fierce autonomy from mainstream expectations that decision required.

Your very commitment to spiritualit reflects to me this constant choosing of the "road less traveled by." While others might have taken refuge from life's suffering, and the ains of aging, in even more comfort or mild addictions, you have gone for refuge to your old friend William.

As you have faced fearlessly this hero's journey, you have helped build in me my own courage to face that journey. When I faced the dead-end of my career in law and politics, instead of resigning myself to a life of quiet desperation, I followed your example and turned inward to find my true path. When a strange to whom I reached out suggested I get the help of a Jungian, it was like the ringing of a bell deep in my soul - a bell that you planted there. Because of your example, I was able to see that I did not have to follow the conventional path, that I could discard my conventional achievements and position and walk into the wilderness.

Now, having silenced the voices urging me to conventional successes, I have been able to hear the inner voice summoning me to my truer calling. Thank you for showing your son that, in fact one's own path is the only path.   

YOUR SPIRIT IN ME

All of these qualities: your profound spirituality; your passion for justice; your identification with the oppressed; your compassionate service to others; your commitment to interpersonal engagement; and your commitment to following your own path; all of these qualities have been passed on to me. I find myself proud to feel that, in many ways, I am carrying on your works. 

As we celebrate your 90TH birthday, as you draw ever closer to becoming, in Henry James' term, "all spirit," I hope that you can feel that, in the deepest way possible, I am truly your son, and that it brings you satisfaction and pleasure. I know that it brings me profound comfort, pride and delight to feel that I am, in the deepest way possible, your son and that you are, in the deepest way possible truly my father.

Robert Edwin Clayton, Psy.D.
15 March 2016 

TWO PICTURES

Christmas 2007
 
March 2016

Thursday, September 7, 2017

LAST TRIP

September 2015

Dear Rennie,

We got your card yesterday and both appreciate it. The best part about going on an adventure is seeing how it unfolds in unexpected ways. You may be finding that although you may have expected to be turning to the outside world when you started your trip, instead you may be turning inward to your creativity, your studies and your reflection.

We are starting a trip to the mountains on Sunday afternoon. On Monday afternoon we should get to Aunt Joel's in Signal Mountain near Chattanooga. This is a trip Grampa really wants to do. I hope it is not too exhausting for him.

Although Grampa was born in the flatlands, he fell in love with the Appalachian Mountains when we first visited them in 1959. In 1963 we moved to North Carolina to be near the mountains. For about 40 years we lived near enough to the mountains to visit them in a few hours or less. Moving to Florida in 1999 means we only see mountains occasionally. We expect this may be the last time we see them.

It is always lovely to hear from you.

Love,
ellie
________________________________ 

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the mountains. Larry fell at the Visitors Center in south Georgia. He broke bones in his face and required surgery. Although he recovered he was weakened and unable to travel to the mountains before he died in December 2016. 
_________________________________

We started our trip to Chattanooga on Sunday but didn't get very far. Dad fell on his face at the Georgia Visitors Center and went to the Emergency Room at Valdosta. There are fractures in bones around his eye socket. We got back to Ocala around 8 o'clock Sunday.
____________________________________

We are at home trying to see the right doctor to evaluate treatment. Dad is strong and alert but looks a mess. We should learn today if surgery may be required. Although things move slowly, we get enormous help from numerous people. 
______________________

Dad got to see the face surgeon today and he scheduled a repair job for Thursday. Dad has not been in pain but he is unable to chew. He was better today than yesterday as far as bleeding and swelling is concerned. I feel more relaxed now that there is a plan which should lead to recovery.
It doesn't take long to get tired of a liquid diet.
_______________________

Dad's surgery is scheduled to for 2:00 today. He is holding up well. We know that we are are supported by God's love and by that of friends and family. We put ourselves in the hands of doctors, nurses and medical folks knowing that they are working to make him well and whole again.  
__________________

After several days in the hospital -
 
We are home as of 5PM. We will take it slow until Dad regains his strength and agility. His improvement between yesterday and today was remarkable. He will use the walker until he is steadier.
Hoping for a complete recovery.
_______________________

Dad made good progress today. He ate better. He had a shower with my assistance. His routine demands a lot of time but is simple - pills, drops, sprays, ointments. He is motivated to do as much as he can to regain his strength. The surgeons work is top-notch.
We are confident that each day will be better than the day before.

VISION

Draft of Inside/Outside
November 2004 

I am much too down-to-earth, too ordinary, too uncomplicated. I've never had those kinds of experiences. I had one vision, if you could call it that, a sudden joyous, liberating, overwhelming conviction that my Heavenly Father loved me personally--after years as a skeptic and deist. I know that there is a perfectly natural explanation for what happened to me, and many people would consider it ordinary, but I know, too, that I entered the kingdom of God as a little child.
But that's it. It meant an entirely different life than I had been leading; I would be scared to death to allow anything more intense because it would be the "third heaven", and I'm most certainly not qualified. 

Larry

RECOVERING

Larry Clayton to Joe Petree
May 2005 
 
 
Nice to hear from you, Joe.  I thought I had scared you off with my rabid sermon.
Heart attack; double by pass.  Oh my!  In the old days that was a lot more serious
than it is today.  Still it's good to learn that it's still feasible at our age.  I may be
due for a retread one of these days-- after 7 years.

We're up here in Washington right now, Joe and supposed to start south tomorrow
morning.,  Unfortunately we're taking an eastern route: Ellie made arrangement with
our son, Paul, to meet him at the mouth of the Neuse to get acquainted with his
sailboat.

A few years ago he said that he meant to sail to Tahiti.  Well I knew that wasn't too
likely, and there's been no mention of it since.  Instead his future may involve a trip
to Japan with the girl, Marie, he's been raising-- if she finished high school.

Paul's sailboat is not an ocean going vessel, somewhat less.  For several years it was
stationed at Southport (at the mouth of the Cape Fear).  Last year he made the trip up
Pamlico Bay.  Coincidentally the Clayton family lived down there in the 18th century;
ggg grandfather, James Clayton, may have ordained by Francis Asbury, although he
never belonged to a conference.  He started churches in Craven Co, the Oxford area,
Butts Co. GA, then a couple of counties in Alabama.  Quite a pioneer. 

He lived to be 86.  I'm hoping to achieve that venerable age.  If so I will be the first
one in the line since James.  His son, James, moved to LA and lived (among other
places in the area that later became the town of Clayton.

Ah! Vanity!!  I focused on that stuff for several years right after we retired in 1988.

It will likely take a few weeks before you recover full strength, Joe.  3 months after my
open heart surgery we were back on the tennis court.  I was so grateful at what they
had down for me that I go to the hospital every Thursday to pray with the heart
patients.  I've made a lot of warm friendships that way.

Ellie has gone with Rob (our youngest) to the airport to meet his wife.  She has been
In San Luis Obispo trying to find a reasonable place for the to live next year.  Strange
that Mark taught at Cal Poly for a few years on his way to Stanford, and now Rob will
be counseling at the same place.  We remain amazed at what God has done with our
children.

Blessing to you Joe and Ginny as well, and all of yours.  I can only say that after my
heart surgery I used to tell people that I feel better than I have in years.

But age is catching up on all of us.  This trip has been pretty rigorous, and I'll be
mighty glad to get home.  Home is the right place for such as we.

God bless all you and yours.
------------------------------
Joe R Petree wrote:
Larry,
    I went out of town a couple weeks ago and had myself a heart attack
and double bypass surgery.  Are you still coming the way.  Would love to
see you.
    Joe

New Orleans

Larry Clayton to Paul Larsen
2005

Great to hear from you, dear friends.  We're in D.C. right now, visiting Rob and Family.  Re Ellie's family:
  Her brother, Hugh lives there with his family.  His wife and two daughters left N.O. before the Hurricane for North LA.  Hugh stayed.  The daughters both had homes in Metarie, in Jefferson Parish (no flooding there). 
 
Hugh stayed in Lakeview, and the house was flooded to the roof.  He managed to get a boat ride to dry land and then walked to his daughter's home; her husband was still there.  Yesterday the two men went up to where the rest of the family was.
 
His home is probably totalled, but the two homes in Metarie may be okay.  We're getting rid of our tenant in Clemson, and Ellie would like for them to live there as long as they want to.  I'll be surprised if Hugh doesn't go back to the NO area in order to help.
 
It's awful, still impossible to fully grasp.  N.O. will be no more, at least like it was.  We find many pleasant memories submerged like the houses.  But who knows? some of the best of it may remain, like the area around Tulane where I was born.  PTL.
 
At the Friends Meeting in Gainesville Sunday a member spoke about N.O. and suggested we hold the poor in the light.  They're certainly the ones who are suffering.
 
We hope and pray that you do visit us in December.
 
Love to you and yours.
 
Ellie and Larry

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Blessed Be

Blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love,
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

We share each others woes, each others burdens bear,
And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.

When we are called to part, it gives us inward pain,
But we shall still be joined in heart and hope to meet again. 
____________________

We often sang this to close our Quaker Worship Group in Ocala.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

JUDITH WROTE

Thank God for Larry Clayton

Thoughts from his friend, Judith Larsen


We Meet……and Meet Again

It happened naturally. In the old Environmental Protection Agency building in Washington D.C. I walked down from my 4th floor office to the newly-established Document Room, probably to look up the legislative history of a law I was working on. Larry, founder and organizer of the Document Room gave me a friendly greeting and explained how to identify and retrieve the documents. He had the most amiable “down home” manner – casual, approachable and deeply Southern. What was that accent? Louisiana, though I wouldn’t have been able to place it at the time.

That first conversation must have been lengthy, trusting and fun (it was easy to make fun of the bureaucracy) because a week or two later Larry came looking for me in my upstairs office. He had a problem and his intuition led him to think I might suggest ways to solve it. When he had put in a request for a secretary the personnel office sent to him a young woman who proved to be difficult: as I remember she was belligerent, wouldn’t take directions, and disappeared for long periods of time. Larry looked at her personnel records and discovered that she had come from my office. Remembering our friendly initial conversation he decided to see if I could recommend strategies for working with her. I was delighted to see Larry again. We joked about the bureaucracy’s personnel-roulette, and I probably recommended that he pass her on down the line, as in the game of Hot Potato.

Third sighting: I moved to San Francisco for a year to work in the regional EPA legal office and lost sight of Larry, who in the meantime had left EPA. But when you are meant to engage, angels manage it easily. When I returned to my Virginia home and to work again at EPA headquarters, I also reconnected with my home Quaker meeting, Langely Hill Friends. I was startled to see a familiar face among the silent worshippers in the dear, quiet room – Larry, accompanied by a silver-haired, small woman with a thoughtful expression: Ellie, his wife and soon to become my good friend. After worship we greeted each other happily, and thus continued our friendly relationship.

Our Deepening Friendship

Larry became my spiritual brother. The feeling of family came partly because we shared some characteristics: we were intuition-led explorers. I trusted Larry completely, and from the beginning there was no pretense between us. Whenever we came together we immediately moved to the spiritual heart of whatever idea was under discussion. More often than not Ellie and my husband Paul joined our lively conversations. Ellie could always offer a thoughtful factual, scientific perspective. To an outsider we might have sounded like debaters, so emotional and emphatic was our back-and-forth.

Larry’s mind was brilliant and penetrating. He had honed his intellect at his beloved Duke University, and in seminary, but also continually throughout his life. I never heard him claim ownership of ideas. Rather he accepted ideas as God-given, streaming toward him. Larry’s task was to discern how to use the ideas .

As a young man, Larry had a thrilling vision of Jesus in answer to a prayerful request for spiritual direction. The vision led him to enter seminary and accept pastoral assignment from the Methodist Church. As it turned out, Larry’s faithfulness to his spiritual calling led him first to assignment as a church preacher in several Southern parishes, but ultimately to other tasks. His was not a standard pastoral journey. He felt called to serve as a probation officer and develop a ministry for alcoholic miscreants in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Then his heart was opened even wider by the Church of the Savior in Washington D.C. which offered ministry to the poor. That struck Larry as close to Jesus’ vision.

By loving and sacrificial agreement Ellie and Larry arranged that their sons would finish the school year in Winston-Salem before moving the family to D.C. So for the good part of a year Ellie was the parent-in-residence for their boys while Larry labored in the vineyards in D.C. Ellie was finally able to join Larry at the Church of the Savior. Their unit of the church, whose members lived and worked together, took on a task to build and renovate homes for the poor, and provide the resident families certain life-sustaining services.

When Church of the Savior ministry turned in a direction that Larry could not follow, in obedience to his divine calling Larry and Ellie left the Church. It was through that fraught circumstance that I found them in the quiet Quaker meeting in Virginia.

Larry gave unwavering attention to the Spirit calling. He never claimed insights and resulting actions as personal to him: it was the Spirit working through him. Although Ellie never said so, I can’t help but believe that this was hard on his family. When he received a call, he answered, as when he gave up a vocation as a church pastor for work with alcoholics, as when he was summoned to D.C. to work with the poor through the Church of the Savior, and as when he gave up his membership in the Church of the Savior despite his dear friendships there because he saw that he must travel a different road.

Meanwhile, Larry and Ellie’s three sons – Paul, Mark and Rob – were passing through high school into adult concerns, and predictable struggles with their father emerged, always resolved in a loving manner, but honestly and directly with the accompanying tensions one would expect. Paul crafted an independent life in North Carolina, becoming an accountant; Mark studied architecture and is a professor in Texas, and Rob became a psychologist, practicing in California.

Ellie was growing in skills as well. She had achieved a Bachelor of Science with distinction at the time of her marriage. As her sons moved into the adult world, Ellie was tapped for computer skills by the Department of Defense.

The family was thus arranged when I encountered them on my return from San Francisco.

Gift of Life

I had a heart connection to Larry and Ellie, and I trusted them implicitly. Here is an example of the kindness and counseling I received from them. I carry a tendency toward depression. While my husband Paul was in Europe as part of a government delegation to a conference, I was struck particularly hard with thoughts of suicide. Knowing Larry was a man of God, I sought his counsel. I particularly wanted to know if I would be cast into hell if I died by my own hand.

When I called Larry with an urgent request to meet with him, Ellie and he were clearing out their home prior to its sale. Larry said “Come right over.” We three sat on up-ended boxes in a little huddle. It was hard for me to speak through the pain I felt, but I stumbled through a description of my state of mind, while Larry and Ellie listened intently. Then Larry spoke. There was no such thing, in his view, as God cursing a soul. I should put that concern away. Larry talked about the gift of life, what a treasure our ordeals are because of the leaps forward they make possible. He said that I would not be given greater burdens than I could carry. As my understanding grew I would come to appreciate and love life.

Ellie was still during this counsel. We both listened intently. Larry led us in a prayer for healing. Looking back I remember extreme relief that I would not be cast into hell for harboring ungracious intentions. I believed completely in what Larry told me, even though I am by nature wary, disbelieving and uncertain.

My heart is filled with gratefulness for Larry’s counsel and for Ellie’s intense silent support.

Always Himself

Larry was at home with himself, never projecting a false image. I wonder if that is what made him so uncomfortable in the early days when he was a preacher. He said the people in his parish were just as good and just as bad as he was. When he would say goodbye to them at the door of the church after the Sunday sermon, he heard “Preacher, you really stepped on my toes!” Then, Larry said, they would go home and eat their chicken dinners and listen to a football game. He came to feel that as a preacher he was not helping them to grow spiritually.

An endearing aspect of Larry and Ellie’s relationship is that he never asked her to assume duties of a preacher’s wife. While Ellie did join activities in the parish, she was originally not the committed Christian that Larry was. Larry never asked her to be anything but herself. She gradually came to a profound commitment to the sacred, but that was through encounters with authors and artists, particularly William Blake. Larry and Ellie shared admiration of Blake, so much so that both maintained a “Blake blog” which Ellie still carries on. Larry wrote a book on Blake and e-published it so that it would be freely available.

Larry’s natural “down home” manner did not open all doors. A mutual friend of our who was a graduate of Duke and whose father had been a professor there, was offended that Larry talked like a country boy. She felt that Duke graduates should speak the king’s English with the king’s accent. But Larry was utterly without pretense. It was this that opened doors with people closer to the street level. Once when I was emerging from a Wendy’s restaurant after a post-church tea- and- biscuits break, I found Larry at the cash register having a heart- to- heart talk with the cashier about the state of her soul.

Larry could be stern and outspoken. Once when Larry and Ellie visited us in Virginia I was walking around our neighborhood with them. I love stories and it was my habit to tell a story about the people in the houses we were passing, assembling a few facts and adding some colorful speculation. We had interesting neighbors, for example, people who worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and even someone who appeared to be in a witness protection program. I was weaving their stories as we walked along when I became aware that Larry was tense and angry. Then I understood that for him people’s lives are not a game. He heard me as mocking my neighbors.

In his later years Larry was a visiting pastor at a local hospital, bringing encouragement and sharing prayers with the afflicted. Larry said he was not just a giver, but equally the receiver in these visits. That loving practice may have helped to sustain his spirit when he was in a hospital preparing to die at the age of 90. Ellie says he was asking friends and family for blessings and forgiveness as he began his final earthly journey.

A Whole Man

I wish I could give an accurate impression of what a unique and powerful person Larry was. The elements of his character that stand out for me are that he was soul directed (that is, God-directed: in constant conversation with God); unpretentious in his daily relationships; astute and intellectual in a graceful manner born of genuine curiosity. Now that he has passed over into paradise I see him clearly. I think he stands out from most of my friends and family who are in the Beyond because he was so fully himself, without many cultural add-ons. He never pretended to be what he was not. He saw that, like those whom he counseled, he also was a flawed human in need of love and forgiveness. He was able to open to the Spirit, let it grow in him and pass it on to reach others.

I have a powerful, living impression of Larry. He continues to be my guide, one who leads me through the complexities of the material life.

Thank God for Larry Clayton!

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

ICU

Each Morning when Larry was in the ICU his medical team including doctors, nurses and therapists would make their rounds to discuss his case. Mark or Paul joined the group to learn what they could. I stayed in the room with Larry behind the glass wall of sliding doors. After the conference in the hall his doctor would visit with Larry to see how he was responding. His primary doctor for several days had been Dr Ang. Since he would not be the doctor in charge the next day, I thanked him for all he had done for Larry and for what the unit was continuing to do. His gracious reply was that we were good people and that he liked helping good people because they would save the world. My heart was warmed to know that he showed that kind of love for us and recognized that saving the world was in the hands of good people working together in whatever capacity they found themselves in.