Dec. 21, 1916 — April 10, 2019

Clayton Willard Mourning, 102, of Cassopolis, died peacefully Wednesday, April 10, 2019.

He was born Dec. 21, 1916, in Calvin Township, Michigan, to Asa and Verna Mourning.

He married Hilda Lawson on Jan. 28, 1938, in Cassopolis. Together they had seven children.

Clayton was a dedicated farmer. During those years, he farmed 160 acres of his own land with share cropping with twelve different farmers at different times.

In the early 1960s, he started the Mourning Tree Service in Cassopolis. He worked diligently in that business while serving his community and surrounding locations for more than 30 years.

He was an active member of the Calvin Community Chapel Church. He was previously enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps, the U.S. National Forest Service, Company 2695 in Free Soil, Michigan, and was a previous member of the Masons.

Clayton worked at Studebaker in South Bend, for five years, Curtis Wright Manufacturing, which made military trucks for the Army, and then he drove a Caterpillar Earth Mover for a company constructing the Indiana Toll Road. To say “he was a busy, hardworking man” is a tremendous understatement.

Clayton will be greatly missed by family and friends. He is survived by two sons, Wayne Mourning, of Ferndale, Michigan, and Wendell Mourning, of Scottsdale, Arizona; three daughters, Charlene (Arthur) Williams, of Vandalia, Josephine Montgomery and Pauline Mourning, both of Grand Rapids; one daughter-in-law, Yvonne Mourning, of South Bend; 19 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren; 50 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two sons, Cecil Mourning and James Mourning; and one brother, Clifford Mourning.

Family and friends will gather from 1 p.m. until time of services at 2 p.m. on Monday, April 15, 2019, in Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, 202 N. Broadway St. in Cassopolis.

Mr. Mourning’s remains will be laid to rest in Calvin Community Cemetery, Calvin Township, Michigan.

The family prefers contributions be made in memory of Clayton to Heartland Hospice, 8075 Creekside Drive, Suite 120, Portage, Michigan, 49024.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals, Cassopolis. Please share a memory or a message online: wagnercares.com.