Lawrence "Cotton" Howard Clayton

HENDERSON- Lawrence Howard “Cotton” Clayton, 82, of Oakridge Avenue, died Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at Wake Medical Center. Born June 8, 1940 in Vance County, he was the son of the late Herbert Gill Clayton and Leah Elizabeth Davis Clayton. Cotton was a member of First United Methodist Church Henderson. He was the owner and operator of the Chestnut Street Exxon Station, Downtown Tire and Bearpond Tire. An avid sportsman, Cotton held the individual North Carolina High School Basketball scoring record for 44 years. He also held other scoring and rebounding records, some of which still stand today. Cotton attended East Carolina University where he played Basketball and Baseball. His baseball team at ECU won the NAIA National Championship in 1961. He was inducted into the ECU Sports Hall of Fame in 1984. After college he played in the Baltimore Orioles organization for 7 years. The family will receive friends prior to the service Saturday July 2,2022, beginning at 12:30 PM at J.M. White Funeral Home. A memorial service will be held Saturday at 2:00 PM in the chapel of J.M. White Funeral Home by Rev. George Loveland. He is survived by his wife, Betty P. Clayton of the home; his daughter, Deborah C. “Debbie” Capps of Raleigh; two sons, Lawrence H. “Larry” Clayton, Jr. of Los Angeles, CA and Randall C. “Randy” Clayton and wife, Christine "Christy" of Apex; three grandchildren, Davis Clayton, Gray Clayton and Wade Clayton; and his brother, Alton G. Clayton of Henderson. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Michael J. Clayton; four sisters, Evelyn Clayton, Elsie C. Dement, Ruth C. Lloyd and Rebecca C. Frazier; and five brothers, Edison Clayton, Bobby Clayton, Harold Clayton, Ted Clayton and Roger Clayton. The family would like to extend a special thank you to Jackie Williams for her kind compassionate care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church Henderson, 114 Church Street, Henderson, NC 27536 or Alzheimer's Association, www.act.alz.org or 225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601.