Gifted sportsman and loving father

OBITUARY: Philip John Clayton. 16.1.1959 to 20.9.2016.

Philip Clayton was a gifted sportsman, talented sports photojournalist, passionate Essendon fan and devoted father.

An only child, he was born on January 16, 1959, in Ballarat, Victoria, to Duncan and Gwenda Clayton.

Gifted academically and in sports, he was Victorian under-16 State golf champion, played a few games for St Kilda in the Victorian Football League, sailed, swam, played water polo, tennis, badminton, baseball and basketball.

He initially studied geology at Melbourne University, but switched to photojournalism at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

On graduating, Mr Clayton started a sports photography business and landed major contracts with leading Australian sports magazines.

In 1985 he moved to Geraldton and worked forThe Geraldton Guardian , where he won numerous photography and journalism awards, including a dozen WA Country Press Club Awards in his final year with the paper.

In Geraldton he met librarian Priscilla Sancho and they wed on September 22, 1990.

A year later their daughter Tully was born and 10 years later their son Declan arrived.

For a time, Mr Clayton worked as a stay-at-home carer for Declan and his ageing parents.

When Declan was older, Mr Clayton worked for Geraldton Personnel Inc and more recently Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney.

A eulogy written by his children, delivered at a memorial service in Geraldton on October 3, noted his sudden passing after deteriorating health this past year.

Friend and former MLA Grant Woodhams described Mr Clayton as someone who loved life, who was intelligent, well-read, erudite, generous and deeply fond of his children.

“You couldn’t be with him very long without Phil turning the conversation about Tully and Declan,” he said.

“He absolutely loved them.”

Hospital chaplain Jeremy Rice led the memorial service and spoke on the 23rd Psalm, pointing to Jesus Christ as “the Shepherd” who offers to make us right with God and take us to be with God.

OBITUARY

Philip John Clayton

Sportsman, photojournalist

Born Ballarat, Victoria 1959

Died 2016