With his children at bedside, Clayton H. Morrison of Portland, Oregon died from metastatic lung cancer on September 5, 2023. Clayton (a.k.a. Bud and Clay) was born on June 26, 1947, in Marietta, Ohio. The youngest child of Clayton Hobart and Kathleen English Morrison, “Bud” grew up in a rural suburb of Denver where he roamed the open plains, played baseball and attended Cherry Creek schools. Clayton graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1965 where he lettered in cross country and track. As a skier, golfer and coach, Clayton’s participation in sports continued into adulthood, and his competitive spirit persisted in his enjoyment as a consummate card player.  

Clayton married Ava Jan Clements in 1965 and while attending college they had two children. Clayton worked forty plus hours a week as a grill cook to pay for college and support his family. He graduated from Colorado State University with a BS in Social Science in 1973, and then went on to earn a JD from Arizona State University in 1973 and an LLM in International Law from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 1974. His love of travel began while living in Belgium and traveling throughout Europe with his family in a 1969 VW Beetle. Clayton continued to travel the remainder of his life, including travels to the Philippines, Bali, Hong Kong, Macau, Ecuador, and Mexico, his favorite country.

After returning from Europe, Clayton and his family moved to Portland, Oregon in 1975. Over the next twelve years, he became involved with the Grant Little and Babe Ruth Baseball Leagues as a coach, manager, and board member.  Later in his life “Coach Clay” joined his son to coach his grandsons when they played for Southwest Little League. Clayton enjoyed spending his weekends chatting with community members while watching youth wrestling and baseball.

With a focus on personal injury and medical malpractice, Clayton was a trial lawyer for over forty years, and he practiced with his son for the past twenty years. Clayton mentored and inspired many young attorneys and his ability to take risks and think outside the box enabled him to effectively represent his clients. Clayton valued people’s personal stories and always rooted for the underdog. 

Clayton is survived by his children Robin Leigh Morrison and Clayton Huntley Morrison and his wife Kelli Walker; grandsons Sylas and Shae Walker Morrison; sisters Patrica Lord and Tracie Larson; and numerous nephews and nieces.

Please join us to honor and celebrate Clayton’s life from 5pm to 8pm on November 1, 2023, at The Regent Center 3185 NE Regent Dr., Portland, Oregon 97212. Refreshments will be served.