Clay F. Crum, 93, of Mount Vernon passed away on Monday, April 21, 2025 at the Ohio Eastern Star Home in Mount Vernon. He was born in Aurora, IL to the late Cary and Lillian (Smely) Crum.
Clay was born in Aurora, Illinois and spent much of his youth living and working with his maternal Grandmother and Grandfather in their commercial greenhouse in Aurora. As a result, Clay was a lifelong gardener and green thumb. Clay graduated with a B.A. in Psychology from Grinnell College in Iowa, after which he served in the U.S. Army in Germany for two years followed by a year and a half of graduate study in Psychology at the American University in Mexico City, Mexico. Clay worked as an Insurance Underwriter and later Vice-President in Chicago, IL and Columbus, OH until his retirement in 1996.
A lover and supporter of the arts, Clay enjoyed painting, photography and collecting art. He maintained correspondence and friendships with many of the artists from whom he collected over the years. In his final years, when he could no longer travel to discover new art and artists, Clay was an avid online collector of Japanese woodblock prints from the l800s.
Clay is survived by his daughter, Amy (Peter) Yersavich of Tucson, AZ; son, Kel (Debra) Crum of Fairborn, OH; grandchildren, Ellen (Rob) Palm of Glen Rock, NJ, and Daniel Yersavich of Columbus, OH; and great-granddaughter, Ruby Palm.
In addition to his parents, Clay was preceded in death by his wife, Joanne (Loser) Crum on August 3, 2005.
The family will have a celebration of life service in June of this year at Sandbridge Beach in Virginia. A private inurnment will take place at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Mount Vernon, Ohio, where he and Joanne retired in 1996, later this summer.
To share a memory or send the family an expression of sympathy, visit snyderfuneralhomes.com
The Snyder Funeral Homes are honored to serve the family of Clay F. Crum.
Funeral Home: Snyder Funeral Homes
Website: www.snyderfuneralhomes.com