In memory of Clayton Vorse

This scholarship is made possible by the friends, family, and colleagues of Clayton Vorse.

Clayton’s Legacy
The last thing Clayton heard in this world was the sound of friends and family laughing upstairs at the 50th birthday party he had planned and staged for his wife Claudia. Their last interaction had been about 5 minutes into the party, when they were passing each other in the kitchen. He stopped her to ask, “So how do you like your party so far?” to which she replied “I love it!” He leaned down, kissed her on the lips, and they went in separate directions to greet arriving guests.

About 10 minutes later, with a house full of people, it became obvious that Clayton was missing from the crowd. The consummate host, it was out of character for him to not be in the middle of that crowd. Claudia found him on the floor in the basement. Brother-in-law and great friend Tom, along with other party guests and ultimately the paramedics, performed CPR, but even attempts to revive him at the hospital were futile. He was gone. Clayton died of an Ascending Aortic Aneurysm. Claudia and Lindsey are grateful for all the prayers, love and support they instantly received from those in attendance.

Beside Claudia and their daughter Lindsey, Clayton left behind hundreds of stunned relatives and friends, who continue to miss him.

One longtime friend, Gary Feuerstein, wrote Claudia from several time zones away, “Clayton was one of the most sincere humans on the planet. He was legendary at work as the one guy who would tolerate the most trying people and situations with patience and guide the conditions to an even result. He was an amazing personality, generous beyond belief, devoted to you two, and committed with every fiber to the rest of his family, friends and his profession. I’m heartbroken for his loss and for the vacancy that you and Lindsey must be experiencing. It is very good to hear that you both have the strength of Clayton’s character with you. That’s monumental.”

Clayton was something of a monument himself. He was a big man, six-foot-four-inches tall. But his size belied the human inside. Alan Costic, his partner, friend and stand-in big brother, called him “an overgrown puppy that got too big for his body.” Clayton was self-effacing, a great people person and usually the butt of his own jokes, Alan said.“He had a unique personality, and all of his clients and his contractors became his friends.”

Clayton was an architect. He learned his craft and received his Bachelors in Architecture at Oklahoma State University, and followed Alan from Oklahoma City to Salem in 1987. He joined Arbuckle Costic Architects and rose, through hard work and dedication to become senior architect and vice president of the firm.

Over the 25 years he was associated with the company, he made a lot of friends. Part of that may be attributed to the lesson he learned early in his career: “When the client says ‘Jump,’ he remembered, you ask, ‘How high?’” That responsiveness and attentiveness earned him a lot of admirers.

Don Myers was the executive director of the Willamette Humane Society when Clayton led a building project there, and they became close personal friends. “We have been like brothers for more than 20 years,” Don said. “He was a loving and wonderful friend… We have supported and encouraged each other through all types of personal and professional ups and downs over the years. If Clayton Vorse was your friend, you were truly blessed. A truer friend cannot be found.”

Early Life and Career
Clayton was born July 12, 1964, in Oklahoma City to Harvey and Sylvia Vorse. Tragically, both of his parents died before he graduated from college. He had two older brothers, Donn and Hal. Donn also predeceased Clayton.

As a high school student Clayton became interested in architecture. When he was 17 he started hanging around FKW Architects in Oklahoma City, and the company put him to work. His enthusiasm drew the attention of Alan Costic, one of the young architects on the staff. Clayton ran errands after school and on the weekends. Soon, he earned a nickname due to his hard work. Alan said they called him “WG” for “Wonder Gofer.”

Clayton’s bachelor’s degree in architecture wasn’t his only takeaway from Oklahoma State. He was a lifelong fan of OSU football and basketball, and he endured being in the minority in Oregon whenever the subject of his beloved Cowboys came up.

Family
He had an even bigger love for Claudia and Lindsey, however. He and Claudia met in a bowling league at Firebird Lanes in Salem in 1989, less than a year after Alan Costic had hired him right out of college.

One night they faced each other on opposite teams, and Clayton approached her, asking, “Have you already had dinner?”
“Yes,” she said.
“Well next week, why don’t you NOT have dinner, and we can go out after bowling?”

The next week, after bowling, they went out to dinner at Geppetto’s, and have been together ever since. A little more than two years later they were married. “It wasn’t because I needed him, but because I wanted him,” she said. Ask Claudia to describe Clayton, and the words tumble out. “He was humble, funny, kind, compassionate, generous, sincere and empathetic,” she said. He knew everything, including useless trivia, and he wasn’t afraid to cry at sad songs or cute TV commercials. He couldn’t hold a grudge, either."

Community Involvement and Achievements
Clayton’s professional work is in evidence throughout the Salem area and beyond. He led, or served on, design and production teams for award-winning education, commercial, religious and governmental projects. He worked on remodels and new construction. He could point with pride at several completed projects, especially, the Chemeketa Community College Center for Business and Industry (CCBI) in Salem, the Linus Pauling Middle School in Corvallis, Taft High School in Lincoln County, the Willamette Humane Society in Salem, and numerous churches, jails and private residences.

“Everywhere I turn there are buildings that remind me of him,” Alan said. Clayton was more than just a designer of buildings. He was engaged in the community. “We try to give back when and where we can,” Alan said, “and Clayton was a living example of that.”

He helped design part of the Salem headquarters building of the Willamette Chapter of the American Red Cross, and he oversaw scores of projects for Chemeketa. Not surprisingly, Clayton attached himself to these organizations beyond what was expected of him as an architect. He served on the Red Cross board, chaired the building committee and became board chair. Then he joined the Chemeketa Foundation board, became its treasurer and in his last year, rose to be its president. He held that office when he died.

Karen Schultz, who ran the Willamette Chapter of the Red Cross during Clayton’s board service, said his positive, upbeat personality made him an excellent leader. “He had all the leadership qualities you need to run a board,” she said. “He was a breath of fresh air.” When he left the presidency, the board gave him the Clara Barton Award for Leadership.

Andrew Bone, the Chemeketa Foundation executive director at the time, said, “In addition to grieving the sudden loss of my good friend, I am well aware of how he will be missed.”

“Clayton loved serving on these boards,” Claudia said. “He took the work very seriously, and he was honored to be involved.” For those reasons, she has suggested that those who wished to do so may make contributions in his memory to the Clayton Vorse Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Chemeketa Foundation or the Willamette Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Clayton had been a regular blood donor to the Red Cross, and his contributions recently passed the 14-gallon mark. One way to remember him would be to give blood to the Red Cross, Claudia said. Lindsey has become a regular donor, following in her father’s footsteps. She can hardly wait to reach the date when she can give again. These donations connect her with her father. “Blood couldn’t save him this time,” she said, but in other life-and-death moments donated blood “could save other people’s parents.”

Clayton and Lindsey had a special relationship. “They did a lot together,” Alan said. Clayton enjoyed teaching her to drive, and Lindsey remembered with some regret that he had led her through all the lessons, but he hadn’t lived long enough to experience the joy of her earning her driver’s license.

In addition to his other interests, Clayton loved golf. He and Claudia were members of Illahe Hills Country Club, and Clayton labored mightily to bring down his golf handicap. “He was always a bogey golfer,” Don Myers recalled, “and he had aspirations of shooting consistently in the 80s.” His quest for those elusive 80s took him on annual road trips, as he and his buddies visited storied golf courses all around the country. He was particularly pleased with recent trips to Playa del Carmen and Scottsdale where he played golf with his brother, nephews, and other friends and family from Oklahoma City.

Along the way around the country, Clayton collected ball caps. “He didn’t just collect them,” Alan said. “He hoarded them.” One of the tributes at his memorial service was to display all those caps and invite Clayton’s friends and family to take a cap home in his memory. Since the memorial service, Claudia and Lindsey have received dozens of pictures of friends and family wearing the caps, all around the world.