Ernestine Hays Clayton passed away peacefully on Saturday, December 11, 2021. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware; daughter of the late Paul and Helen Hays. Ernestine was united in marriage to Sheldon M. Clayton, Jr. in 1948, until his passing in 1999.
A Wilmingtonian all her life, Ernestine graduated from P.S. DuPont High School in 1945. She worked for the Red Clay School District at the Anna P. Mote Elementary and Thomas McKean High Schools for over twenty years. She sang in many choirs and choruses throughout her life, most recently with Peniel Methodist Church and Marshallton Methodist Church, where she was a member.
Ernestine is survived by two sons, Donald H. Clayton (Susan) of Ocoee, FL, and Richard M. Clayton of Neffs, PA; four grandchildren, Sara Clayton Beazley (Jason) of Winter Garden, FL, Andrew Hays Clayton (Stephanie) of Ocoee, FL, Adam Clayton of Orefield, PA, and Audrey Clayton-Alonzo (Samuel) of Allentown, PA; and two great-grandchildren, Henry Hays Clayton and Alice May Clayton, both of Ocoee, FL.
Services for Ernestine will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 17th at the McCrery & Harra Funeral Home (3710 Kirkwood Hwy, Wilmington, DE 19808). Friends and family may call beginning at 10:00 a.m. Interment at Silverbrook Cemetery will immediately follow.
