Clayton E. Sparrow, 72, of Helena, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at his home on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. <\/p>\n
Clayton was born in Helena on October 24, 1938 to Merlin and Florence Dorrell Sparrow. He graduated from Helena High School in 1957 and went on to serve in the Army National Guard. After returning home from the Army, Clayton started his plumbing apprenticeship with the Reber Company in 1960. He married Donna Hanson and had two kids, Doug and Tammy. Clayton and Donna later divorced. His sister Shirley introduced him to her good friend Arlene McNett and they later married in 1969. Out of this marriage, Clayton gained a daughter, Gordi Ann, and two sons, Allen and Fred. Together they conceived their son, Richard. Clayton continued his plumbing career, running jobs throughout the state, settling back in Helena and working for the School District for 16 years. He was a plumber for 45 years. Also, he and Arlene ran a \u201cMa & Pops\u201d grocery store along with storage units outside their home for 17 years. After retiring from the School District, Clayton began his career as a master truck driver and equipment operator with his son Richard at Sparrow Enterprises. <\/p>\n
In Clayton\u2019s younger years he enjoyed backpacking on horses and many motorcycle adventures. He loved to watch NASCAR and even got to drive one. He enjoyed his daily coffee and B.S. sessions with the boys, road trips with friends, and playing pinochle, but what he treasured most was spending time with his grandchildren; giving rides on the 4-wheeler or watching them participate in various events and sports. <\/p>\n
Clayton is survived by his wife, Arlene; daughters Tammy (Gary) Baxter; and Gordi (Chuck) Maynard; sons Doug Sparrow; Fred (Tami) Pippin; Allen Pippin; and Richard (Jenn) Sparrow; grandchildren; Mandy and Wes Tegg; Nick (Melissa) Pippin; Chelsey Pippin; Mike (Amber) Jungers; Josh (Nicole) Jungers; Tara Siewrt; Nathan Baxter; Austin and Chance Sparrow; Morgan Pippin; and Kase and Jaden Sparrow; 10 great grandchildren and one on the way; numerous nieces and nephews and an endless list of friends. <\/p>\n
He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Shirley Holom, grandson Kenny Pippin; sister-in-law Eunice Newel, and long time friend and motorcycle buddy Don Didriksen. <\/p>\n
Please join us for a reception and celebration of Clayton\u2019s life on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 4:00 to 6:00pm at the Helena Valley Community Center on Tizer Road. Memorial donations may be sent to Helena Valley Community Center, 4111 Helberg Drive, Helena, MT 59602 or memorial of your choice. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/303859_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}