Clayton K. Loy

Clayton K. Loy of Mt. Sterling, KY died suddenly on May 1, 2023.

Born on February 8, 1984, at Fairfax County Hospital, Clayton spent his early years in Dale City, VA before moving to Kentucky in the 8th grade. He loved sports, made friends easily and within a few weeks of his arrival was named team captain of the McNabb Middle School soccer team. No stranger to change, Clayton returned to Virginia as a young teenager and graduated from Loudoun County High School in 2002.

Despite his academic accomplishments and real gift with mathematics, his interest in college was short lived. After a few courses at Northern Virginia Community College, it was abundantly clear that Clayton preferred life outside the classroom.

He was smart, funny, quick-witted, and immensely likeable which brought about countless work opportunities and enabled him to make friends from all walks of life. Clayton wore many hats over the years (mostly Redskins). He catered the White House Easter Egg Roll, managed Church’s Country Store in Leesburg, VA and worked as a project manager for Dominion Paving & Sealing before enlisting in the Army in 2009.

While his short fuse had him shoveling rainwater for hours at Fort Jackson, SC, his ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) revealed strengths in language, communication and math, which punched his ticket for language school. After basic training, Clayton attended the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA where he studied Farsi.

Never one to follow a traditional career path, Clayton returned to Kentucky after his Army discharge and spent the rest of his life chasing down construction work, factory jobs and just about anything that would keep him out of an office.

Clayton loved the beach. He was a beach bum from birth and never missed an opportunity for sun, sand and family. Trips to Bethany Beach and Virginia Beach were summer highlights. He also never missed a Redskins game and loved a good tailgate. If he had a steak & cheese sub, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, a box of Cheez-It’s, chocolate chip cookies and a working TV, he was right as rain. Throw in some Yuengling and life was just about perfect.

An early adopter of technology, Clayton always had the latest and greatest gadgets too, especially cell phones. He liked to tinker and fix things and never encountered a problem he couldn’t solve with Superglue.

He was a storyteller too. A great storyteller. It’s hard to know if they were true, mostly true, heavily embellished or all out fabrications, but they were without a doubt some of the best, and funniest ever told.

Clayton lived his life on his terms. He was flawed, as we all are, but as a son, brother, uncle and cousin, there was no finer. He was a gift to all who were fortunate enough to cross his path and will forever be missed by everyone who had the good fortune of spending a little time with him.

He was predeceased by his father Larry Loy and is survived by his mother, Deborah Starr, brother Ryan (Juliana), sister Brittany, half-sister Heather, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephew, cousins and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association.

The family is planning a Celebration of Life in early July at Virginia Beach.