Remembering Clay: Messages from Family and Friends

Clay was a force, whether it was in Business, Community or Charity. When he put his efforts behind something, it got done. He was fun to work with, you stayed focused, and goals were met. Recently, he and his foundation helped us sort through our efforts to formalize and improve The Berry Family Foundation. They provided so much, and I am forever grateful.

He wanted nothing in return but the understanding that we continue to give back to the community. He will be missed but his memory will live on forever.

~ John W. Berry

Please accept our condolences on the loss of your father to your whole family. Madelyn has many fond memories visiting his house with Jenna. You all are in our thoughts and prayers. I am sure you and your siblings will carry on his legacy with pride.

~ Mary E Skinner

The prayers of everyone at The Smith Brothers Family Foundation are with the Mathile family on the loss of your beloved Clay. I've met so many people in the Dayton area impacted by his giving spirit both in business and in philanthropy. May he Rest In Peace knowing that the impact he made to individuals in the community will benefit generations.

~ Susan Keller

When clay learned about me needing a kidney transplant he helped connect me with the top nephrologist and transplant doctor at the Cleveland clinic. In a huge way he set me up to have the best chance at a successful transplant, and now I am getting to live my life to the fullest. Since my transplant I have been a PICU nurse, hiked a 14,000 mountain, been to 11 different countries, attended my sisters and multiple friends weddings. Without Clay and his generosity who knows if I would have been able to have gotten the opportunity to do those things. I will be eternally grateful.

~ Danielle Fedders

I only met Clay Mathile a few times, and always within a big crowd, so he didn't really know me. However, one of those times was at an event at his home. He was so generous to allow this event at his house and to welcome us along with his wife, MaryAnn. I was struck by how humble he was and how much he loved the Dayton area community. The measure of a man is not the size of his wealth, but rather the size of his heart. Clay certainly had the wealth, but I believe it was his heart that really made his larger than life.

~ Dan McCabe

Clay was a man of incredible vision, focus and heart. He will be greatly missed. My memories of Clay, come from meeting and talking with him at Aileron events over the years. Simply said, he was so kind and he made me feel appreciated.

I especially remember reading his book Dream No Little Dreams for the first time where he wrote: I simply wanted to record my story and the story of the company I built and loved for the people closest to my heart. He noted that those closest to his heart were of course his family and the future generations of his family, the Iams managers and employees and lastly business associates and entrepreneurs. His description of the business associates and entrepreneurs in his life will remain with me forever. He notes; business associates and hardworking entrepreneurs in our community who I hope will find something of value here as they travel their own, sometimes lonely business journeys. The success we enjoyed at Iams is replicable and sharing our story is one way I can thank you for your noble efforts rising your own capital to create jobs for others

And we now, thank you, Clay and the entire Aileron Family, for sharing your story, it has made all the difference to so many of us. I for one and our company, IDO Incorporated, have been blessed to know you and will quietly be carrying on your legacy and sharing it with future generations for many years to come.

~ Jill Mendoza

I joined the Iams Company in 1996 and briefly met Clay that year. I was based in Atlanta, but in 1998, I was transferred to Dayton. During one of my first visits to the cafeteria in Poe Avenue, I was having lunch with a couple other folks from the JAL group and Clay joined us and welcomed us to Dayton. He remembered my name and was very personable and welcoming. I will always remember Clay very fondly and can truly say that my years at Iams were the best years in my career.

~ Mario Contreras

One of the most special things about Clay and Mary is how they make others feel so loved and cared for, even if they've only known you a short while. The genuine care they have had for me throughout my time at the Foundation has been unlike anything I've experienced at any other workplace. Clay would always ask how my family was doing, remembering them all by name. I admire Clay and Mary both for their accomplishments and who they are as people. The love they have for each other and their family is something you can just feel when you are around them and I strive to have that impact on others as well. I can remember being at their house for an event and my daughter Lainey was only a few months old at the time. He offered to hold her so my husband and I could eat our dinner, knowing that new parents don't often get to eat uninterrupted. It's how I'll always remember him.

~ Emily Hughes

I went to a lunch years ago and Clay was the speaker. I will never forget how he captured the attention of the crowd with his words. The thing I remember most was how he spoke about his employees and how he said to treat your employees like family. I loved that about him. I have also spoken with a few of his former Iams employees who provided examples of times where Clay did treat his employees like family. He was well respected and loved.

~ Theresa Peck

Clay touched my life almost 15 years before I ever met him. As a teenager I participated in the World Food Prize's youth program, just one year after Clay founded the program with his long-time friend Norman Bourlag. I grew up learning from my parents and family the importance of finding the intersection of what excites you and what you can do for the world, and this is precisely what Clay embodied.

I have been so incredibly fortunate to know Clay, Mary, and the entire Mathile family for many years. They've taught me so much about love, generosity, perseverance and how to constantly strive to be better - a better person, partner, and global citizen.

There are two key teachings from Clay that I'll always take with me. The first is that nobody is a stranger. I saw first hand how he and Mary, decade after decade, took in and looked after anyone and everyone they met, and treated them as their own. The second is that constantly being curious will never cease to change and enhance your life. You could never bring up a topic around Clay without him poking and prodding at it so that he could grasp it from all angles. I saw so much of my own grandfather in him, in sharing these qualities, and will miss Clay deeply. All the love to the Mathile family.

~ Caleb Small

Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley is saddened to hear of the passing of Clay Mathile. His support for our organization has been steadfast for many years. He, along with the Mathile Family Foundation, has provided support, guidance and given so generously to our many programs and services. Clay Mathile was a strong advocate and philanthropist in establishing the Miami Valley Works Program, a service of Goodwill Easterseals Miami Valley. The Miami Works Program helps willing and capable people living in poverty achieve economic self-sufficiency through employment. He also saw the vision and supported our mission in helping to build the Goodwill Easterseals Main Street Campus in Dayton along with the new West Campus Community Services Center in Trotwood. His belief in uplifting and inspiring people was shown through his years of support of our childrens programs including the free Car Seat Safety program and the Child Screening Service. We are grateful to have known Clay and our thoughts are with the Mathile family as we celebrate his life lived with the intention of improving the lives of those around him. He was a trailblazer, an advocate and a renowned leader of a community he loved deeply. He will never be forgotten.

~ Lance Detrick

Clay believed that the knowledge, values, and teaching of W. Edwards Deming about management and leadership would be of great benefit to everyone in a business and in any type of organization. I will always be indebted to Clay for making available the resources of Aileron, especially for the many contributions of Joni Fedders and the Aileron team in the development and publication of my book about Dr. Deming. I was very honored and humbled by Clays note at the beginning of the book. To Clay's family, and to the Aileron family, so sorry for your loss.

~ Edward Martin Baker

We are so saddened to hear of Mr. Mathile's passing and send our condolences to Mrs. MaryAnn, Cate, Tim, Mike, Tina, Jenn and all of their families. I know the legacy that Mr. Clayton left his family will only grow stronger and be ever resilient as you carry forward his great works.

~ Teresa Walker

I remember Mr Mathile coaching our basketball teams in middle school. I learned a lot of life lessons that I continue to think of everyday. I learned about leadership, hard work, organizing a group to reach a common goal, what it means to be a part of a team that was bigger than you as an individual and I learned about basketball. I'm so sorry about the time he broke his foot in a scrimmage, during practice, when he landed on my foot after grabbing a rebound. I remember sitting on a big bag of dog food in the back of his cool BMW on the way to practice. I always felt like Mr Mathile believed in me more than I did myself, even though I could NOT shoot a basketball. I have coached baseball, football and been an eager cheer dad while trying to pass those same life lessons on to my son and daughters as well as a host of other kids who will never know the example that I was trying to emulate. My prayers and love are with you Mr Mathile and your amazing family.

~ Mick Rooney

I never met or personally knew Clay, but I want to say that his beliefs and how he has touched businesses and entrepreneurs is exemplified in how the company I work for treats it's employees and their families. The company I work for (Knox Machinery) makes it no secret just how much Aileron has improved them as a business and in life. Clay has both directly and indirectly touched an enormous amount of people and will continue to do so for many years to come.

My condolences go out to his family. I am very sorry for your loss.

~ Charles Jones

I was blessed to have known Clay for well over a decade. He was truly a great man, father, mentor, and leader. Maya Angelou expresses my feelings best in "When Great Trees Fall"

When great trees fall,

rocks on distant hills shudder,

lions hunker down

in tall grasses,

and even elephants

lumber after safety.

When great trees fall

in forests,

small things recoil into silence,

their senses

eroded beyond fear.

When great souls die,

the air around us becomes

light, rare, sterile.

We breathe, briefly.

Our eyes, briefly,

see with

a hurtful clarity.

Our memory, suddenly sharpened,

examines,

gnaws on kind words

unsaid,

promised walks

never taken.

Great souls die and

our reality, bound to

them, takes leave of us.

Our souls,

dependent upon their

nurture,

now shrink, wizened.

Our minds, formed

and informed by their

radiance,

fall away.

We are not so much maddened

as reduced to the unutterable ignorance

of dark, cold

caves.

And when great souls die,

after a period peace blooms,

slowly and always

irregularly. Spaces fill

with a kind of

soothing electric vibration.

Our senses, restored, never

to be the same, whisper to us.

They existed. They existed.

We can be. Be and be

better. For they existed.

~ Chris Harsdorff

I always think of Clay as the kind man whom I met as a teenager through a family friend. His generosity and graciousness in extending an internship to a young college student changed my life. I am so proud to have been an employee and built a career at the Iams Company and to have been a part of the CCPP culture. I admired and respected Clay as an astute businessman and dedicated leader. But I equally admired him for ring a true family man and the man of God. Clay treated everyone at Iams as an extension of his family, and I will be forever grateful to have been a part of that special group. I think of my time at The Iams Company often and know that I was truly blessed. Clay has positively impacted millions of people and pets around the world, and he will forever be honored, respected and loved.

~ Debbie Priolisi McKiernan

I had the pleasure of meeting Clay at the Course for Presidents at Aileron in November 2018. He was extremely authentic and genuinely interested in providing guidance to those of us embarking on the Aileron journey. Our company has been on that journey for 5 years, which has not only drastically improved how we run the company but also it has personally changed my life. I'll forever be grateful to Clay and his vision and investment in Aileron. Cheers to Clay and the impact he had on this world and prayers to the Mathile Family.

~ Matt Carlton

In my capacity of Facility Manager at IPFI, I had the pleasure of meeting Clay several times, due to expansion of the Eindhoven office and the installation of the Coevorden plant. I remember him as a kind man who was always interested in the other person. Please accept my sincere condolences.

~ Hélène Dirks

My Memories of Clay are of a Loving, Kind,

Supportive Servant of God

Philippians 1:3

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you

~ Leroy White