Jay Ward Claypool

Jay Ward Claypool, 76, of Richards, Mo., formerly Harrisonville, Mo., passed away on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, at Christian Health Care in Nevada. He was born Dec. 30, 1932, in Richards, Mo., to Joseph Ward Claypool and Bernice Evelyn Sharp Claypool.

Jay moved with his family to Rich Hill and started school there at a young age, but spent most of his school years in Butler, Mo. He graduated from Westport High School in Kansas City, Mo., in 1950. Jay started a career in banking at the Mercantile Bank of Kansas City. He took a leave of absence from the bank to serve in the U. S. Navy during the Korean Conflict where he was a storekeeper for naval aviation parts. He spent four years active duty and two years in the reserves. In 1957, he returned to the Mercantile Bank and then in 1960 he went to work for the Allen Bank and Trust Company in Harrisonville, Mo., where he was brought in to manage the bank. He also acted as cashier, served on the executive board of directors, and became a shareholder of the bank. He retired in 1989. He was a graduate of Rockhurst College with a BSBA degree and graduated from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Banking. He was a member of the United Methodist Church of Harrisonville, the Masonic Lodge Coldwater No. 485 in Drexel, Mo., the Knights Templar, Ararat Shrine, Kansas City, Mo., and Lions Club of Harrisonville.

Jay moved back to Richards in 2007.

Survivors include one son, Joseph Claypool and his wife Karen, Richards, Mo.; one grandson, Jesse Claypool, Richards, Mo.; one granddaughter, Peyton Claypool, Richards, Mo.; his brother, James A. Claypool, Excelsior Springs, Mo.; a nephew, James D. Claypool, Excelsior Springs, Mo., and one niece, Michelle Claypool Murphy, Parkville, Mo..

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009, at Ferry Funeral Home, Nevada, Mo.. Interment will follow in the Richland Cemetery, Richards, Mo. The family will receive friends, 9-11 a.m., prior to the service at the funeral home. Friends may call from Tuesday and until the hour of service on Thursday, at the funeral home.

Those who wish may contribute in his memory to the Shriner's Children's Hospital c/o Ferry Funeral Home, 301 S. Washington, Nevada, MO 64772.