Jo Ann Clay
What brought you to West Side and how long have you worshiped here?
Rick and I came to West Side from the Downtown congregation in 2010. We were raising two of our grandsons, Dylan Clay, 5, & Colin Clay 2.
Share some things to help us know you better?
Rick and I were teachers. Rick taught Special Ed at Search High and I taught kindergarten at Westside Elementary. I retired early because we got another grandchild to raise. Raela Dawn Clay came to us in the fall of 2010. She is a Down syndrome sweetheart, and graduated from SHS in 2024. She had a wonderful special graduation in the Performing Arts Center because she could not walk in graduation because she was in the hospital for an open-heart surgery. Raela likes listening to Christian music, reading, and watching Friday night “Little House on the Prairie” movies with her Nana.
What’s a new thing in your life these days?
God is guiding me as a new widow, and he has blessed me in so many ways. He is helping me to learn how to do some things that my husband, Rick, always did. God is amazing, and I’m blessed to still have Raela Dawn with me.
What’s something most people would not know about you?
I was struck by a leader to a bolt of lightning on the first day of school at Westside Elementary while putting a child in a car after school in 1993. I was rushed to my doctor for an EKG. Apparently, my body was magnetized more because I had set up a learning center with magnets. The lightning struck the metal tip of my umbrella. My body overheats now on hot days in the sun.
Who is an inspirational person in your life?
Dennis and Rita Fant have been like family to us, and Raela just loves them! They are truly God’s servants. Rita and I go way back as kindergarten teachers. Raela likes to ride in Dennis’s golf cart, and she would like to drive it! I can’t count the many encouragement cards we have received from them.
What’s an act of kindness you’ve received from someone at West Side?
There have been so many. The prayer quilts that the ladies made for Rick and later for Raela were wonderful and the sleep shirts that Carla Chance made for Raela to wear after her heart surgery were just what she needed. Those were wonderful acts of kindness.
