Obituary of Sarah Allison Clayton

Sarah Allison Clayton, 73, died on Thursday, November 14, 2019 at Duke Medicine Pavilion, after suffering a stroke on November 2, 2019.

She was born in Durham County, the first daughter of Elbert and Mary Felicia Allison. Sarah was a 1965 graduate of Orange High School in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Sarah is survived by her son, James Clayton (Tammie Warren) of Wilmington, daughter, Jennifer Noah (Darrell) of Haw River, and six grandchildren, Andrew Clayton, Harmon Clayton, Lilly Virginia, Ryan Virginia, Cameron Noah, and Hannah Noah. She is also survived by her two sisters, Jeanne Crabtree (Donnie) of Hurdle Mills and Marian Houck (Jeff) of Winston-Salem as well as two brothers-in-law, Curtis Clayton (Dorothy) of Hillsborough and Tommy Clayton (Patsy) of Cedar Grove.

She was predeceased by her husband of 43 years, Larry James Clayton, and her parents, Elbert and Mary Felicia Allison.

Over her career, Sarah wore many hats. When her children were young, she made wedding cakes before working at Cameron Park Elementary school. After leaving the school system, Sarah worked at UNC Hospital in several different departments. After her initial retirement, Sarah went back to work part time for an attorney in Hillsborough. After officially retiring, Sarah enjoyed spending time with her family and dogs. She was an avid crafter and enjoyed scrapbooking, card making, quilting, and painting. Sarah also enjoyed cruising with family and friends and most recently took a transatlantic cruise from Spain to Florida.

The family will receive visitors from 12:00 to 6:00 on Friday, November 15th at the home of Donnie and Jeanne Crabtree. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, November 16th at Walnut Grove United Methodist Church with visitation to follow in the fellowship hall. Arrangements are with Walker’s Funeral Home of Hillsborough.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Prayers and Squares Ministry at Walnut Grove United Methodist Church. Sarah was one of the ladies instrumental in beginning the Prayers and Squares ministry and quilted countless prayer quilts that have been shared in many states.

The family would like to thank the first responders in Orange County as well as the staff at Duke University Medical Center for the care that they provided Sarah over the past 13 days.