Robert “Aaron” Clay of Celina, Texas was born March 20, 1980 in Sherman, Texas to Robert and Karen (Daily) Clay. He passed from this life to his forever home on November 1, 2023 in Dallas, Texas.
Aaron attended Calera schools where he met his future wife Kylie in the halls of Calera High School during his senior year in 1997. It was rumored she actually asked him out first. Kylie was a freshman and Aaron a senior so marriage had to wait a few years but finally arrived on July 29, 2001. Aaron loved Kylie, Easton and Bella unconditionally as well as his entire family including aunts, uncles, and cousins and will be dearly missed.
But most of all Aaron loved God and was saved when he was 10 years old. He and his sister, Heather, spent many nights and weekends in lock-ins at the church or Falls Creek and was fortunate enough to help lead Easton to the Lord.
After being out of school a couple years and working and trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life, Aaron finally decided to attend college. First at Murray State and then to OSU Okmulgee Tech receiving his associate degree in Engineering Technology in 2003. He worked at a number of Architectural engineering firms as a draftsman and finally as a medical equipment placement technician. His current place of employment is HDR in Dallas, Texas.
Aaron was a man of many interests and passionate about all of them. He loved sports including baseball, basketball, football and golf and participated in all from an early age. From an early age, and many times he could be found attending his beloved Rangers baseball or Cowboys football games and is probably ecstatic about the Rangers finally winning the World Series. His love affair with old and classic cars and working on them was unmatched except maybe for possibly racing. He was an avid fan of auto racing of any kind from dirt track, which he participated in a few years ago, to NASCAR and all in between. If it had a motor and wheels he was a fan. He also loved hunting and camping and went deer hunting almost every year from when he was 7 bagging more than one buck along the way.
He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Kylie (Thomas) Clay; son, Bradley “Easton” Clay and daughter, Bella Emmaline Clay; his parent, Robert and Karen; sister, Heather Kuhns and husband Jimmy; father and mother-in-law, Frank and Paula Thomas; sisters-in-law, April Collins and husband Brian, and Lauren Johnson and husband Chaz; nephews, Caleb Clay Ellevold, Kage Collins and Trace Johnson; nieces, Kimber Collins, Kassidy Collins, and Paislee Johnson, as well as many aunts, uncles, and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert and Lavelle (McLarry) Clay, and Doyle and Elizabeth (Burkhalter) Maxey; aunt, Cathey Reynolds; uncles, Tommy Reynolds and Tedwin Maxey; cousins, Todd Allen Clay and John “Bradley” Pate.
A public viewing will be held 8 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday, November 3, 2023 at Brown’s Funeral Home and funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at the First Baptist Church in Calera with Pastor Jacob Toews officiating.
Interment services will directly follow at Rose Hill Cemetery with Brian Beaubien, BJ Clark, Brian Collins, Chaz Johnson, Kevin Wingfield and Josh Reynolds serving as pallbearers.
Arrangements under the direction of Brown’s Funeral Service.