Clay Bennett

Clay Bennett was one of my best friends when we attended Wimbish Elementary school in Arlington in the 1960’s. I think we might have played football together, and I don’t remember exactly how we connected, but we did. I remember us having sleep-overs at their house on Valley Oaks Lane, where I got to know Ann and Charles. It was traumatic for me when they split the kids who lived in The Oaks – off from Wimbish – and transferred them into Pope. But then my family ended up moving to the southwest part of Arlington and Clay and I lost further touch because we were now in completely different school districts. I had little contact with Clay after that until this past spring, when mutual friends put me in touch with him again, and we connected on Facebook. Miraculously, we chatted online and then had a wonderful phone conversation, in which it was as if we were both little boys, catching up with a whole lot of lost territory. Once again, I realized how he was such a wonderful, delightful human being, and I was so glad I was able to re-connect with him, in our later lives. I especially want his mother, Ann, to know that my memory of Clay’s face, reminds me of how much he resembled you, and to thank you for giving this world your wonderful son.