Mary Elizabeth Brown Clay "Betty"Mary Elizabeth Brown Clay, 82, known to her family and friends as Betty, passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 22, 2016 in Jeffersonville, Indiana. She was born on March 25, 1934 to Wiley Bush and Minnie Hall Brown in Shreveport, Louisiana. Betty was a loving wife, an inspired mom, a generous grandmom. She was an aunt, a daughter, a sister, a mother-in-law and a friend to so many. She was great lover of books, a writer, poet and teacher. She led her life by example, with generosity and vision not only for creating opportunity and hope for those around her, but also for those in need, through her actions and donations to multiple charities for many decades. She graduated from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1951, where she met Paul Clay in 11th grade Biology class. They went to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville together, and were married in 1955. Theirs was a life-long story of true love, devotion and kindness. Betty graduated from U of A in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science in Education. A passionate student, she eventually received her Master of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of Louisville, and a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Los Angeles. Paul and Betty celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary on June 11, 2015. She was preceded in death by her parents, her devoted husband Paul Eugene Clay, Jr., her eldest son Paul Eugene Clay, III, her sister Winona Ward, brothers-in-law Hugh T. Ward and Camp Flournoy, sister-in-law Carolyn Flournoy, and many friends and family whom she missed every day.She is survived by so many who will always cherish her memory, her son Mitchell Brown Clay, her daughter Charlotte Clay Huggins, her daughters-in-law Nancy Gast Clay and Julia Browning Clay, her son-in-law Thomas Roy Huggins, and her beautiful, smart, loving grandchildren, Elizabeth Clay Ellis (Aaron), Michelle Marie Clay, Amy Rebecca Clay, Stephanie Nicole Clay, Jenny Elizabeth Clay (Andrew Rittenhouse), Mary Clare Clay, Angelica Eloisa Huggins, and Patrick Clay Huggins, nieces and nephews Beth Ward, Leslie FitzGerald, Fletcher Ward, Sara Ward, Craig Flournoy (Nina), Kate Flournoy, and Charles Flournoy, as well as her kind and supportive friends and neighbors. Betty is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery, in Louisville, Kentucky. Friends and family are invited to join her memorial service to be held at a later date. For information about the gathering and to let her family know you are planning to join them in this celebration of Betty's life, please email [email protected].