He was born Jan. 3, 1960, in Homer. Part of his family was the Deitz family who were some of the original homesteaders in Homer, and also the Coopers. Cooper Landing was named after his great-great-grandfather, who founded it.

Clayton resided in Fairbanks in 1975.

His family said, "Clayton was a very giving person who would give the shirt off his back if someone needed it. We all love and will miss Clayton."

He helped many people in their time of need. His greatest passions were his family, church and his parrot, Kato. Most people knew that Clayton and Kato were inseparable and went everywhere together until Kato died. Clayton's other hobbies were singing in the church choir, snowmachining, race car driving, clam-digging, fishing and hunting. He was well-known for his pranks and will be remembered for them.

Clayton was a mechanic most of his life. While in his shop he built lots of vehicles, including his famous red tow truck, and the red Malibu that he and his sons, Rocky and Daren, built from the ground up. Not only did he build them, he fixed them in his business KX3 Auto, named after "KX3," the cattle brand used by his Deitz family. He will be truly and greatly missed.

He was preceded in death by his parents Delcie May and George Earl Richardson; nephew, Shawn; niece, Trudy; and Kato, his beloved parrot.

Clayton is survived by his loving wife, Cheryl; sister and brother-in-law Autumn and Adrian Doxsee; sister, Yulanda Johansen; and sister and brother-in-law Scharlott and Mark Thomas; sister-in-law-Corey Sheldon, brothers-in-law Wayne, Russ and Randy Harford; son Daren and wife Chuck; son Rocky and wife Christie; daughter Rachel and husband Danny, and children Sam, Tonya, Jeremy, Robert and Mary; mother- and father-in-law Gloria and Robert Harford; grandchildren Jonathan, McKenzie, Blake, Tristan and Nicholas; nieces and nephews Miles Richardson (who carries on the family name), Tanner, Ryder, Jason, Amber, Jolene, Rubeun, Joshua, Mariah, Angelena, Gloriella, Atrayu, Isreal, Deaynna, Shauna, Crystal, John, Billie Joe, Rodney and Alexis; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews; aunts and uncles; and a very large extended family.

Clayton was laid to rest on Jan. 30, 2004, at Hickerson Memorial Cemetery on Diamond Ridge.

A memorial service was held Jan. 31, 2004, at Homer United Methodist Church.