Our dear father, grandfather, and great grandfather passed away Saturday, April 2, 2016, at the age of 93 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Born to Ada Matilda Schaerrer and Raymond Horne Clayton on November 15, 1922, in Payson, Utah, he grew up in Midvale, Utah, and graduated from Jordan HS and later the University of Utah Medical School.
In high school and at the University of Utah, he played clarinet and saxophone in the marching band and dance bands. After graduating with both academic and athletic honors from high school he joined the U.S. Air Force Cadet program where he became a Cadet Colonel. He graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology and a commission in the Air Force, later becoming a First Lieutenant.
Two years after his 1944 marriage in the Logan, Utah Temple to his beloved Farrell Naylor, he entered the University of Utah Medical School graduating in an accelerated three-year program. Upon graduation he began a general surgery internship in Seattle then took his family to Reliance, Wyoming for eighteen months to work as a company doctor for a coal company. He returned to Salt Lake to finish the general surgery residency then practiced as a general surgeon for about five years. He next decided to train in plastic surgery for three years at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, CA, and became a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. His three sons followed him into medical careers, John and Dave becoming plastic surgeons and Paul becoming an anesthesiologist. It was a great joy for him to work alongside his sons and also with his wife, who graduated from the University of Utah College of Nursing in 1973. He was certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and was a member of various other plastic surgery societies and medical organizations.As one of the early plastic surgeons in Utah, he inspired his posterity which includes four plastic surgeons (including one nephew), an anesthesiologist, a podiatrist, and three registered nurses.
Not only was John an accomplished musician, athlete, and surgeon, he served faithfully in many callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including as a member of a Bishopric, several times as a choir director, as a High Priest Group leader, and on a Stake High Council. He was also a tenor in the Tabernacle Choir for two years.
He and Farrell traveled widely. They also served as medical missionaries in the San Diego California Mission from October 1999 to April 2001. Both delighted in time spent with their children and grandchildren. He loved flying his airplanes, boating at Lake Powell, water skiing, snow skiing, playing golf, tennis, and fishing.
The family wishes to express gratitude for the excellent care he received at Sunrise Assisted Living of Sandy.
John was preceded in death by his beloved bride Farrell Naylor Clayton, granddaughter Rebecca, and parents and siblings, Maxine (Dell) Greenwood, Margaret, Algene (Oral) Clayton, J. Maurice (Neva) Clayton, and Genevieve (Jerry) Young. He is survived by his three sons, John N. (Janice), David N. (Allison), and Paul N. (Holly), twenty grandchildren, and fifty-six great grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at the Foothill 6th Ward, 2215 East Roosevelt Ave. on Saturday, April 9, at 11:00 am with a visitationfrom9:30-10:30 am.
