Clayton Earl Huntington

Clayton Earl Huntington passed away on March 13th, 2026. He is survived by his daughter Amy and two loving grandsons Andrew and Charlie. Also surviving him is his sister Peggy Rosas. He was blessed with many nephews, nieces and cousins from the Huntington and Peterson side and they are Tami, Tim, Conner, Colten, Penni, Shelbi, Jake, Morgan, Luka, Paige, Harper, Caleb, Garrett, Stan, Deidre, Doug, Taylor, Jordan, Mekahla, Kendon and brother and sister in law Don, and Gloria.

Clay was born on August 5, 1945, at his grandparents’ home in Jefferson, Texas. He was raised by his parents Clayton and Edna Earl, and he had three siblings Peggy Huntington Rosas (husband Tino), Shane Huntington (wife Cristi) and Patti Huntington Wallace (husband TJ).

Clay graduated from University of Texas at Arlington and joined the U.S. Army in 1969 and entered flight school in Fort Wolters, Texas where he quickly became best friends with Stuart (Tooey), Wingo, Randy, Gene and Fast Eddy to name a few. Clay served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot along with many others including his friends whom he remained close with until his passing. 

On April 7, 1973, he married Linda Peterson.  Within six months of dating, he knew “she was the one” and said the best decision he ever made was to marry her.  They welcomed their only child Amy in March 1977, the second-best decision. As a military family, they moved from Alaska to Georgia, then California and finally in Northern Virginia with his final military assignment working at the Pentagon. After serving in the Army for 23 years, Clay retired as Lieutenant Colonel Huntington in July 1990.  He then started a new career path as a Real Estate Broker with Coldwell Banker for 25 years until he retired in 2015.

Clay and Linda’s daughter Amy blessed them with their first grandson Andrew in 2006 and Charlie in 2015. Andrew and Charlie were greatly loved, cherished and spoiled by Clay and Linda and they ultimately created the perfect family together.

In 2015, Clay and Linda moved to Lake Gaston North Carolina. Their days were spent fishing, boating, spending time with the family and being active members of Lakeside Lutheran Church.

Linda, his wife, passed away in July 2024. The heartache and sadness were enormous for Clay, Amy and the rest of the family.  Clay pushed through the heartache of losing Linda, but clearly his heart was broken. We now smile a little during this sad time knowing Clay and Linda are together once again along with all his family and friends that passed before and his heart is once again whole.

Clay had many names he was known by including Clayton, Budd, CATO, and Boppa but his favorite one was Dad. We know he will always be with us, and we will continue to be strong and loving to one another as he taught us to be and always looking for a good laugh as he did.

Services for Clay will be on Saturday, April 18th at 10:00 a.m. in Virginia at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Burke, VA and an additional service honoring him for his church family at Lakeside Lutheran Church in Lake Gaston, NC on Saturday, May 2nd at 11:00 a.m.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.’” —Matthew 25:23 (NIV)