Clayton Coppins Westland

Clayton Westland, died peacefully on April 1, 2025, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The father of three, Clayton, Bruce and Amy, he was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Julia (Matlock) Westland. Clayton was well-known for his wonderful sense of humor, his kindness and abiding interest in family, friends and everyone he came to know.

The son of Alice (Coppins) Westland and Clayton Westland, he was born in Dixon, Illinois on November 7, 1926, His family moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was a young boy. They soon settled in Scarsdale, which became his hometown for 40 years. In 1953, Clayton took notice of Julia Matlock on their usual New York Central commuter train and asked one of his friends to arrange an introduction. They married later that year and remained in Scarsdale until 1977. Eight years in Boston followed, escaping the suburbs by living in the St Botolph Street neighborhood. Their final move, to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1984, was owed to Learning Enrichment, a growing publishing business he developed in Washington DC.

Clayton served in the Army Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he attended Lehigh University, earning a business degree. His career in advertising sales then began, starting at McCall’s magazine. This was followed by Scholastic Magazines, where he became head of advertising sales and developed a high school summer abroad program. A position as head of advertising and circulation at The Christian Science Monitor followed. There he developed the idea of educational inserts. These four-page sections covered current events, and would be used by school teachers in social studies classes. In 1980 Clayton’s dream job was born, when he and his friend and business associate Bruce Barton formed Learning Enrichment, which distributed education units covering critical thinking, economics and industry to middle and high schools. Clayton retired from Learning Enrichment in 2014, at the age of 88.

Community involvement came naturally to Clayton due to his outgoing personality. In Scarsdale, he was a First Reader at the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Later, in Boston, he was president of the St. Botolph Neighborhood Association, and worked toward preserving the neighborhood’s historical character. Clayton also supported the Williamsburg Symphonia and Williamsburg’s nascent First Night Celebration.

Clayton developed his athletic abilities while attending Scarsdale High School, where he set basketball scoring and track records. He gave up golf in order to spend more time on the weekends with his family, and soon become an avid tennis and paddle tennis player. His morning runs became a goal of completing the Boston Marathon, which he did twice when in his 50s.

Surviving are Clayton C. Westland, Jr. and wife Barbara Wheeler of Pawtucket, RI, Bruce Westland and husband Greg Fritz of San Francisco, CA, Amy M. Westland and husband Dennis Denton of Plano, TX and stepson Alex Denton of San Diego, CA, and brother Charles W. Westland of Scarsdale, NY.