Edward B. Clay Jr. ’47

Edward Clay died peacefully April 20, 2012, at Foulkeways in Gwynedd, Pa. He was 86.

Ed attended Chestnut Hill Academy and graduated from St. George’s School. He matriculated at Princeton in 1943 but soon entered the military, serving in Patton’s 3rd Army and being seriously wounded in Luxembourg in 1945. Ed earned a degree in chemical engineering from Princeton, where he was a member of Ivy Club. He worked briefly for Campbell Soup Co. and then joined Smith Kline & French as a senior R&D administrator, retiring in 1976 after 27 years of service.

Ed began a second career as an artist, earning an M.F.A. at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. While he painted for a number of years, he became accomplished in the field of art restoration, and his work is spread throughout the Philadelphia area.

Ed served on the vestry of St. Paul’s Church in Chestnut Hill and was a longtime member of the Orpheus Club of Philadelphia, retiring as its president in 2001. He summered for many years in Winter Harbor, Maine, where he sailed, hiked, and enjoyed his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Julia; two sisters; sons Edward, Philip, and Peter; daughter Julie; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. To them all, the class extends its
condolences.