Ella Josephine Clayton

Ella, ‘Jo’, Clayton succumbed to a short illness on October 17, 2021, age 92. She was born in Savannah, and spent most of her formative years in Miami, FL. After graduating from Gesu High School she held various jobs including telephone operator and stewardess for National Airlines. Later in life she volunteered extensively for St. Joseph, St. Anthony, and Town & Country Memorial Hospitals.

Jo met her husband, Garland Lee Clayton on a date in South Beach, Miami. She married Lee in 1952 and proceeded to have a family of four exceptionally successful girls. The family grew up in Tampa and Fenton, Missouri following Lee’s upward progression at Westinghouse Electric.

Jo was predeceased by her parents: Zedoc Greer and Vivian Greer Wirick, her brother George New and husband, Lee. She leaves behind her four daughters: Susan, Roland Rodriguez; Kathleen, Richard Farmer; Nancy, Charles Sanders; and Jane, Gregory Maniscalco; grandchildren: Raymond, Emily, Rico, Davis, Jacquelyn, Alyssa, Christopher, & Jillian; four great grandchildren: Jack, Quinn, Eli, & Peyton.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, October 23 from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at Gonzalez Funeral Home in Tampa.

Instead of flowers, why not consider a donation to the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Red Cross.