Beloved daughter, sister, aunt, great-aunt, cousin, and friend, Sharon Kay Clayton (63) was called home to Glory on July 28, 2022, after a valiant battle with cancer.
Born on May 29, 1959, in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Sharon was the oldest of four daughters of Joe Edward Clayton and his late wife Myrtle Biggs Clayton. Although born an Arkansas “Razorback” while her parents were completing degrees at the University of Arkansas, Sharon was an ardent Florida Gator football fan who rarely missed a home football game.
Professionally, Sharon Clayton was a consulting medical physicist and president of Clayton & Associates, a consulting practice she founded in 1990 to provide cost-effective health care services in imaging and radiation therapy. Early in her career, she worked with ECRI in Philadelphia, PA; Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, FL; and Sawyer, Joiner, & Dickerson, P.A., in Orlando, FL. She was an active member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, certified by the American Board of Radiology in Diagnostic Radiologic Physics, a physics reviewer of the ACR Nuclear Medicine Accreditation program, and a member of the inaugural advisory board for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Florida. She was a graduate and valedictorian from Glades Day School (’77) ,and received her Bachelor of Science in Engineering in Nuclear Engineering (’81) and a Masters in Nuclear Engineering (Medical Physics, ‘83) from the University of Florida.
Personally, she enjoyed traveling, reading, learning and loved all sports, including college football and tailgating with friends and family. When nephew Nick Sanchez played for the Stanford Cardinal, she became a staunch Stanford fan as well. She was a loving Aunt who attended many school and sports activities to support her nephews Matt, Nick, John and niece Sarah and their teammates (many of whom also called her “Aunt Sharon”). Sharon remained a member of the Community United Methodist Church in Belle Glade throughout her life, often attending services remotely, and her faith sustained her during her battle with cancer.
Sharon Clayton was preceded in death by her mother “Mert,” her grandparents D.T. and Ruby Clayton and Virgil and Mable Biggs, and many other beloved family members. She is survived by her father, Joe E. Clayton, of Belle Glade, FL, sisters Judy Clayton Sanchez (Julio) of Belle Glade, FL, Janet Clayton Felletter (Walter) of Tampa, FL, and Carol Clayton Saviak (Joe) of St. Augustine, FL, nephews Matt Sanchez (Lois) of Plantation, FL, Nick Sanchez (Karmen) of Fort Worth, TX, John Felletter and Sarah Felletter of Tampa, FL, two great-nephews Antonio Sanchez and Alberto Sanchez, of Fort Worth, TX and great-niece, Violet Raquel Sanchez of Plantation, Florida. She also leaves behind first cousins Mark Baker, Julie Hausherr Caruth, Bernard Hausherr, Jr, Alan Eastham, Clayton Eastham, Dorothy Musial, Elizabeth Geletei, Kathryn Haynes, numerous other cousins, relatives, and an extended “family” of friends. Sharon was especially blessed to have a circle of “Angel Helpers” in Orlando.
A Celebration of Life will be held August 20, 2022, at the Community United Methodist Church in Belle Glade, Florida (and broadcast on the church Facebook page). In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Community United Methodist Church in Belle Glade or the American Cancer Society.
