Dorothy R. Clay

Dorothy R. Clay has lived a life filled with hard work and devotion to her children. She was born in Sanger, West Virginia, on February 2, 1931, to the late Mike and Rose (Benis) Roman. As a child, she lived with her family on her father’s farm, and she remained in West Virginia for many years, until she settled in New Jersey, where she lived for forty-two years, before finally moving to Pennsylvania.

Her children recall that Dorothy liked knitting, sewing, and reading books. She also loved flowers and gardening. At her home in New Jersey, the yard was filled with flowers, shrubs, and vegetables. Dorothy enjoyed tending to all of them. Dorothy was also a fantastic cook, and always made food for the entire family. Hosting fifty people at Thanksgiving, Dorothy would do it all, cooking everything from turkey, ham, and lasagna, to cookies, cakes and pies. Those cakes and pies were her specialty. Her apple pies were particularly delicious, so much so that the family used to fight over them!

Outside of the house, Dorothy was also in a weekly bowling league, and had a good average. She had her own ball with “Dottie” on it. She also enjoyed visiting Atlantic City, playing craps, heading to the racetrack, and going out to dinners and dancing.

Even more than her hobbies and homemaking, though, Dorothy has been a steadfast and relentlessly hard-working mother, one who both kept the home together and worked multiple jobs to support her family. Her first job upon moving to New Jersey was at Burroughs, a manufacturing company. Then, for a long time, Dorothy worked two jobs. By day, she was a quality assurance surgical inspector at Ethicon, in Bridgewater, New Jersey. At Ethicon, Dorothy inspected surgical needles, carefully studying each one through an eyepiece or microscope. She had to meticulously review boxes and boxes of needles with her sharp eyes (to this day, Dorothy has 20/20 vision). By night, her role switched dramatically: She went to work as a waitress at Raritan Valley Country Club. At one point, Dorothy even worked three jobs.

Upon retiring, Dorothy spent time traveling on vacations and cruises but, for the most part, she has enjoyed being at home, remodeling the house, spending time by her pool, and tending to the garden. She liked to read Danielle Steel novels, and listened to Neil Diamond and Bob Seger. She was also a huge fan of singer Philip Paz. She also loved soap operas, especially The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless.

Dorothy is survived by her children; Juanita Beckmann, Regina Clay, Wallace Clay, Jr., Vickie Georgiana and Jeffrey Clay, her grandchildren; Kevin Chiesa, Karen Chiesa, Wallace Clay III, Nicholas Clay, Ryan Clay and Tyler Clay and her six great-grandchildren. Along with her parents, Dorothy was predeceased by her sons, Wesley and Mark Clay, her ex-husband, Wallace Clay, Sr. and her sisters, Mattie Smith and Annie Crouch, and her brothers, Idore, John, Harry, William and Joe Roman.

Services are to be held privately.

Donations may be made, in Dorothy’s name, to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, via alzfdn.org/donate.