Mary Cleveland Clay

Mary Cleveland Clay, 90, died Nov. 14, 2006, at the Oneonta Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, following a prolonged period of failing health.
A longtime resident of the state of Oklahoma, she had moved to the area in 1996, living first with her son and daughter-in-law, Carleton and Julia Clay, in West Laurens, and then at the Hampshire House Adult Home before moving to the Nursing Home in November 2002.
Mary was born Nov. 12, 1916, in Crystal City, Texas, the daughter of the Rev. Charles and Emma Harris Cleveland. Her childhood was spent in a number of small towns in New Mexico, west Texas and Oklahoma, where her father supplied the pulpit as a minister in the Methodist Church.
A graduate of Coweta, Okla., High School, where she excelled as a student and as piano accompanist for the school choir, she attended East Central State College, in Ada, Okla.
She married Derwood A. Clay in 1937, in Allen, Okla. Mr. Clay, who was also a Methodist minister but who eventually became a high school teacher of English and speech, died in 1980. Their life together was spent primarily in the town of Henryetta in eastern Oklahoma and in Oklahoma City.
Mary was a piano teacher, working with hundred of students during a career that spanned nearly 40 years.
After her husband's death, Mary became involved in volunteer activities, first as a trained counselor for Hospice and then as a recreation director for the Daily Living Center, an adult day-care facility in Oklahoma City, from which she received the Volunteer of the Year Award in 1985.
She also began writing poetry, following up on an interest that she had shared with her husband, and she became well-known among her friends for her simple, gentle poetry, which is characterized by a reverence for all living creatures and things.
She is survived by her daughter, Ann C. Smith and her husband, Jerry L. Smith, of London, England; by her son, Carleton Clay, and his wife, Julia Hasbrouck Clay, of West Laurens; and by five grandchildren and their families, including nine great-grandchildren.
She also considered the residents of the Oneonta Nursing Home and members of the Unitarian Society of Oneonta to be part of her extended family, and she leaves behind many friends whom she had made during her time living in the greater Oneonta area.
Following cremation at the Hillington Crematorium, Morris, Mary's ashes will be taken to Oklahoma City to be next to those of her husband.
There will be no calling hours.
Expressions of sympathy may be made to Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, the Unitarian Society or to any organization having as its major purpose the goal of world peace or humanitarian relief.
The family would like to thank the staff of the Hampshire House Adult Home and the Oneonta Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for the excellent care they provided for Mary during her final years.
Arrangements are by the Johnston Funeral Home of Morris.