Charles 'Clay' Wolking

CHARLES CLAY WOLKING, son of Gene and Evelyn Wolking, was born July 5, 1950 in Shreveport, Louisiana. A loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and friend, he passed peacefully at home on September 9, 2011, surrounded by family following a short illness. He was 61.
As a child, Clay (as his friends always called him) moved around the U.S. because his father was career Navy. Upon his fathers retirement from the Navy, the family settled in Montrose, Colorado, in 1972.
Clay attended Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado, receiving his Bachelors Degree in Information Systems in June, 1972. It was during this time that he met Kathryn Ann Koliha. They married in June, 1976 in Fort Collins and then made their home in Greeley, Colorado. Clay worked for Monfort and their successor companies from 1976 until 2003.
Clay and Kathy have two daughters, Lisa Katherine Farmer, wife of Cody, in Berthoud, Colorado, and Karen Elaine Leavey, wife of Mike, in Greeley, Colorado. Clay and Kathy became grandparents in March, 2009, when Lisa and Cody presented them with their new grandson, Gavin Edward.
Clay and Kathy moved to Arizona in September, 2004, where Clay took a position as Office Manager with Russell Investment Advisors in Prescott. He had a wonderful sense of humor, a quick wit, and a laugh that was infectious. Clays many interests include family, music, travel, playing poker, sports and technology.
Family: He loved spending time with family whether it was a special occasion or holiday or no particular reason at all.
Music: Clay loved almost all genres of music but held a special fondness for the oldies.
Travel: Clay and Kathy loved to travel and had the opportunity to cruise Alaska, Europe, and the Caribbean on multiple occasions. They also enjoyed car trips visiting states from Wisconsin to California to Washington. One of their favorite vacation spots was the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Poker: Clay played Texas Hold Em Poker almost every Sunday with the same group of friends at Yavapai Resort until his illness.
Sports: Clay himself played racquetball and tennis recreationally for many years. He enjoyed watching sports of all kinds with a special fondness for the Denver Broncos that he maintained even while living in Arizona.
Technology: Clay showed an aptitude and fondness for computers and technology long before attending Colorado State University. He liked to keep up to date on all the new gadgets as they became available.
Clays parents, Gene and Evelyn precede him in death as does his older brother, Ken. In addition to Kathy and their daughters, Clay is survived by his sister, Phyllis Ann Pias, wife of Bob, of Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is also survived by a large number of nieces and nephews on both sides of the family.
A Celebration of Clays Life will be held on Thursday, September 15th, 10:00 a.m. at Arizona Ruffner Wakelin Funeral Home on Cortez Street in Prescott.
Contributions should be made to Hospice Family Care Foundation for Hospice Family Care, Inc, 100 E Sheldon St, #100, Prescott AZ 86301.