Lee Clayton

MADISON- Lee Clayton, 76, died at home on May 7, 2014, after living with Parkinson's disease for 25 years. Born March 23, 1938 in Crookston, MN, Lee grew up near Lockhart, MN as the eldest of Frank and Mary Clayton's four sons. He spent his pre-school years in the company of his English grandfather Herbert Clayton exploring the flora and fauna of his western Minnesota farm home. Lee's curiosity about and love for the natural world, qualities he developed during those years, formed the center of his being,

Lee studied geology as an undergraduate and master's student at the University of North Dakota. He continued researching glacial geology in New Zealand as a Fulbright Scholar, and returned to the US via cargo ship, travelling to ports all over the world and stimulating his abiding interest in global histories, cultures and terrains. He completed his PhD studies at the University of Illinois and began his career as a glacial geologist at the University of North Dakota. There he met and married Barbara Harris, the sister of his PhD student Ken Harris. In 1979, after a sabbatical year in England, Lee and Barbara settled in Madison, WI. Lee looked forward to full-time research as Professor of Geology at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, where he worked until his retirement in 2007.

In both teaching and research, Lee used his exceptional observational ability combined with probing logic to develop the story of how the landscape and the geology beneath it was formed by glaciers, ancient rivers, lakes and wind. He taught his students and colleagues the power of deep curiosity coupled with thinking unbounded by conventional wisdom. His extensive publications list is witness to his great scientific productivity, but, according to his colleagues, only by reading those papers does his originality of thought become clear. The maps, reports, and journal articles that he wrote will long be studied by those interested in learning about the origin of the landscape that surrounds them.

Lee's family and friends will remember his astonishing knowledge of history and the natural world, his wry wit, his fanciful drawings, and his gentle, loving demeanor. Lee is survived by his wife Barbara, their daughter Anna, and by three brothers: Lynn, Red Wing, MN; Kip (Deb), Afton, MN; and Mik (Ellen LaLuzerne), Madison; a brother-in-law, Ken (Phyllis) Harris and many nieces, nephews and their families.

The family thanks Agrace HospiceCare, and especially Becky and Joshua, for their tender care during Lee's last months. Please join in a casual celebration of Lee's life on Friday, May 16, at 4:00 PM at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison, WI 53705.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the UW-Madison Arboretum, one of Lee's favorite places and where his family plans a commemorative bench. Contributions may be made in memory of Lee to the UW-Madison Arboretum at http://uwarboretum.org/donate/ or 1207 Seminole Highway, Madison WI 53711.