Clayton "Roe" Murrow West

Clayton Murrow West, known by many as Roe, passed away peacefully at his home on April 1, 2022. Some might say he died from a broken heart, having never fully recovered from losing his lovely wife in December 2018, with whom he was married for 61 years.

Roe was born an only child to Alfred Clayton West and Rilla McMurrain West on August 11, 1935. He was raised in Orlando, FL by doting parents and was sent to military academy for high school. He enrolled and then later graduated from Florida Southern College in August 1963. He married the beautiful sorority president, Virginia Kennedy West, on January 18, 1957. They had their first of three children 10 months later when Clayton M. West, Jr. (spouse: Nola) was born. Over the next three years two more kids came along, Robert K. West (spouse: Cathy) and Juanita Kathryn Sorrels (spouse: Scott). Sadly, Roe lost his mother in 1957 and Virginia lost her mother six months later. In the early years, Roe worked for his dad, who owned a commercial painting company. When working for Dad became too difficult, he returned to college to obtain his degree and started a sales career with United States Steel. He stayed with USS, advancing through the ranks, completing 36 years before his retirement in 1999.

For the last 40 years, Roe has been a resident of Cropwell, AL. He has been a devout Christian and attended Pell City First United Methodist Church. Beyond this he had many varied interests, but none were more important than his family which now comprises ten grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Perhaps his greatest legacy however is not his offspring who have all been successful but the example he set by how he lived his life. He did his best in every situation, persevered through difficult times, adored his family, loved his wife and knew that finding happiness meant pursuing your goals with vigor. One of his favorite phrases was, “Don’t worry about the mule, just load the wagon”. Which we grew to understand this means, don’t worry about how you are going to get from here to there, just do everything you can to be the best person possible today, so you are ready to follow God’s path. These are words to live by. Roe didn’t have a neutral gear, he was always active: fishing, golfing, boating, yardwork, traveling, socializing, investing, volunteering, flying his airplane, reading, cooking and praying. He also never tired of his two labs Ace and Bella.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11 am, Saturday, April 23rd at Pell City First United Methodist Church. A light lunch to follow in the Beacon Hall.

In memory of Clayton M. West, in-lieu of flowers, the family would like donations to Pell City United Methodist Church, they are looking to improve handicap accessibility by adding an elevator and have an ongoing fund-raising campaign for this cause, Elevate the Dream.