Clayton Wilmes

Clayton Earl Wilmes was born on July 24, 1951, in Tyler, MN, to Earl and Maxine Wilmes. Clay grew up in Russell, MN, from his childhood through high school. He was baptized on August 19, 1951 and later confirmed on June 6, 1965 at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Island Lake Township. Upon graduating from Russell High School in 1969, he moved to Minneapolis, MN where he worked for AC Black and Company while attending school at Control Data Institute. Clay graduated in June of 1972 with a Computer Science Degree. On April 11, 1970, Clay was united in marriage to Linda Jean Knudsen, at the First English Lutheran Church in Marshall, MN. In 1972, the couple moved to Houston, TX, where Clay began working at Texas Instruments. In 1975, they welcomed their first and only child, Nicole. During the years in Texas, Clay was involved with men's softball, hunting and was a proud spectator at all of Nikki's school and sporting events. In 1984, the family moved back to Minnesota and resided in New Hope. Clay then started working with the Hewlett-Packard Company. He later retired in 1998. Clay entered the care of the North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale, MN on Wednesday, April 10, 2024 where he passed away on Saturday, April 20, 2024 at the age of 72.

Clay was a longtime parishioner at First Lutheran Church of Crystal. Clay loved his sports - he could always be found cheering on his beloved Minnesota teams; the Twins, the Wolves, the Vikings and the Lynx. He liked playing cards and board games at family gatherings. The annual Wilmes Family Board Game Weekend (WFBGW) will never be the same without his standard joke of 'When are you all going home?'. He would love to sit back and take in his surroundings, only occasionally commenting but when he did, it was well-on target or quite the zinger!

Clayton is lovingly remembered by his wife, Linda, of New Hope, MN; daughter, Nicole (Todd) Denney of Forsyth, IL; his mother, Maxine Wilmes of Morningside Heights in Marshall, MN; grandchildren, Brice (Kasey) Denney, Michaela (partner, Julian Moore) Denney, and Larisa Denney; great-grandchildren, Asher and Addy Denney, Ayleah, Lennox, and Cadia Moore; bonus great-grandchildren, Elijah, Lily, Ethan, and Rashad Moore; siblings, Barb (Bill) Driscoll of Russell, MN, Mark (Kathy) Wilmes of Tyler, MN, Darla (partner, Mark Heinis) Anderson of Russell, MN, and Todd (Susan) Wilmes of Springfield, MN; and several nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, and father, Earl Frank Wilmes.