Clayton Earl Richardson
Obituary
Anchor Point resident Clayton Earl Richardson died Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2004, at his home, with his family by his side singing "Amazing Grace." He died from mesothelioma, a rare cancer caused by asbestos exposure. He was 44.
A memorial service was held Saturday, Jan. 31, at Homer United Methodist Church. Mr. Richardson was buried Friday, Jan. 30, at Hickerson Memorial Cemetery on Diamond Ridge.
Mr. Richardson was born Jan. 3, 1960, in Homer. Part of his family was the Deitz family, who were some of the original homesteaders in Homer, and also the Coopers. Cooper Landing was named after his great-great-grandfather, who founded it.
Mr. Richardson resided in Fairbanks in 1975.
He was a mechanic most of his life. While in his shop, he built lots of vehicles, including his famous red tow truck and the red Malibu that he and his sons, Rocky and Daren, built from the ground up. Not only did he build them, he fixed them in his business, KX3 Auto, named after OKX3, the cattle brand used by the Deitz family.
Mr. Richardson's hobbies included singing in the church choir, snowmachining, race car driving, clam digging, fishing and hunting. He was well-known for his pranks and will be remembered for them.
"Clayton was a very giving person who would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it. We all love and will miss him," his family said.
"He helped many people in their time of need. His greatest passions were his family, church and his parrot, Kato. Most people knew that Clayton and Kato were inseparable and went everywhere together until Kato died."
Mr. Richardson was preceded in death by his parents, Delcie May and George Earl Richardson; nephew, Shawn; and niece, Trudy.
He is survived by his wife, Cheryl; sister and brother-in-law, Autumn and Adrian Doxsee; sister, Yulanda Johansen; sister and brother-in-law, Scharlott and Mark Thomas; sister-in-law, Corey Sheldon; brothers-in-law, Wayne, Russ and Randy Harford; sons and daughters-in-law, Daren and Chuck, and Rocky and Christie; daughter and son-in-law, Rachel and Danny; additional children, Sam, Tonya, Jeremy, Robert and Mary; mother- and father-in-law, Gloria and Robert Harford; grandchildren, Jonathan, McKenzie, Blake, Tristan and Nicholas; nieces and nephews, Miles Richardson, Tanner, Ryder, Jason, Amber, Jolene, Rubeun, Joshua, Mariah, Angelena, Gloriella, Atrayu, Isreal, Deaynna, Shauna, Crystal, John, Billi Joe, Rodney and Alexis; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews, aunts and uncles and a large extended family.