Joe V Clayton

Joe V. Clayton

July 3, 1958 - April 15, 1992

Joe on his wedding day 1984

I first met Joe in the 9th grade when we were both in Mr. Carver's Civics class.  Mr. Carver was good friends with my grandfather, R. C. Short, and because I tried to give the appearance of being studious, I sat on the front row.  One morning Mr. Carver gave a written assignment to be completed in class.  The room was quiet and everyone was working when a note was passed to me from the back of the room.  It was an off colored note, to put it mildly, and it was signed Joe V. Clayton.  My face turned several shades of red as I heard suppressed laughter from Richard Bass.  When the bell rang I sprinted out of that class as fast as possible, hoping my parents would allow me transfer to Guntersville High School.  I heard a voice calling "Sandy" but I didn't slow down until I was in my next class.  Joe followed me with a mortified look on his face.  He did his best to assure me that he didn't have anything to do with the note and apologized for Richard's crudeness.  We all had at least one bad experience in high school, didn't we?  From that day forward, Joe went out of his way to prove to me that he was indeed a gentleman.  My next significant memory is from 12th grade when the Clayton's barn caught fire and several horses died.  Joe was extremely upset and I remember him telling us in Mr. Warren's class that he listened to "Candle In The Wind" over and over as he grieved.    

I lost touch with Joe V. after high school.  Sadly, Joe died in a car accident on April 15, 1992.  Like Norma Jean, Joe's young life was tragically cut short and the town of Arab mourned the loss of a well known citizen.  Joe loved a good party, and he would have enjoyed attending all of our fun class reunions.

For Joe, I hope they have Chevy sports cars in heaven.

Written by Sandra Gibson-Hester