Clayton Keith Davis (68) passed away at his home in Ozark, AL on October 14, 2023. He was born February 23, 1955 in Birmingham, AL to Delores Thrasher Davis (d. 2018) and is survived by his Father, Billy Keith Davis (94), his sister, Dr. Ruth Yvonne Davis, and younger brother, Lyle Thrasher Davis, (and Lyle’s wife Svetlana, and their daughter Bridget Elizabeth). Clayton’s true love, Hoyt Earley, was also a key member of Clayton’s law practice. In 1992, they moved into the 1900 Historic Dowling-Steagal House until Clayton’s heart was broken when Hoyt passed in 2021. Clayton married Michael Lee Allums two weeks before passing.
Clayton was born with photographic memory and read proficiently by age three. He was also a gifted pianist and organist, winning Alabama State piano competitions. He was hired as the University Baptist Church organist at age 13 in Huntsville, AL, where he grew up. He graduated from Virgil I. Grissom High School in 1973. He loved playing the organ at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Ozark, AL, and held all the members dear to him.
Clayton received his B.S. magnum cum laude in Mathematics, Piano, and German from the University of Alabama in 1975, and his J.D. from the University of Alabama School Of Law in 1978.
From the time Clayton was a young man, he was naturally drawn to elderly people. He began practicing law in 1979, with offices in Dothan, Montgomery, and Mobile. Throughout his career, his firm contracted with Area Agencies on Aging to provide legal assistance under Title III of the Older Americans Act; insurance counseling to Medicare beneficiaries under the State Health Insurance Program; and he administered the Senior Medicare Fraud and Prevention program.
During the highlight of his career, he served over 54 counties in Alabama; gave hundreds of presentations on various legal topics to professionals and caregivers; and helped thousands of Seniors maintain independent lives. In his private practice, he focused on Social Security Disability, Estate and Medicaid Planning, and Wills/Probate. At his death, he was the President of the Board of Directors for the Alabama Family Trust. Clayton devoted his life and practice to helping those that could not help themselves.
Clayton and Hoyt’s ashes are buried by the life-size statue of St. Michael, which Clayton donated to the St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Ozark. In lieu of flowers, a memorial donation for the church can be mailed to: 427 Camilla Ave, Ozark, AL 36360.
Published by AL.com (Huntsville) from Oct. 19 to Oct. 20, 2023.