Clay O Kimsey

Clay Kimsey passed away Jan. 15, 2022, at Poudre Valley Hospital, Fort Collins, Colo., following a brief illness. He was 38 years old.
Clay Oakenshield Kimsey was born Nov. 21, 1983, to Gary and Connie Kimsey at the same hospital. His mother preceded him in death when she passed away March 1, 2011. Clay is survived by wife Merideth (Meri) Kimsey, his father, and sister Emily Kate Louise Kimsey, all of Fort Collins, as well as a nephew and two nieces.
Clay grew up at his family's riverside home, called Sunnyside, in Poudre Park in the lower Cache la Poudre Canyon. He attended Poudre School District schools, including Stove Prairie School, a small mountain elementary school, and the district's elementary and junior high schools in LaPorte. He graduated in 2002 from Poudre High School. While in high school, he worked on the school's newspaper, played viola in the orchestra, and honed skills in drawing, sculpting and painting. He attended Expression Center for New Media, Emeryville, Calif., and Front Range Community College, Fort Collins. He studied computer-assisted design and graphics.
His employment included various positions for Colorado State University, Poudre Valley Hospital and Schrader's Country Store near the mouth of the Poudre Canyon. One of his more favored early jobs was as a projectionist for Cinemark 16 movie theater in Fort Collins; this afforded him the opportunity to remain current on movies. His favorite position, which he began in 2018, was with Colorado State University's tree and plant nursery on the university's Foothills Campus. This job allowed him to spend part of the day in the office interacting with customers and the rest of the day outside caring for plants and trees.
Clay's most enjoyable day was March 17, 2012, when he and Meri were married on top of a boulder in the Cache la Poudre River behind the Sunnyside home. Their marriage was on the same spot where his parents wedded three decades earlier. The wedding officiant for Clay and Meri's wedding was Judy Jackson of Bellvue, Colo., who had been the child-care provider for Clay and his sister when they were children.
Clay was a gentle, soft-spoken man who enjoyed the outdoors, cats, video games, drawing, and reading science fiction, particularly Frank Herbert's Dune series. He was a fan of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books, which was not surprising since Clay's middle name, Oakenshield, was taken from a leading character in The Hobbit. Clay often posted quotes from Dune and humorous strips related the Star Trek TV series on his Facebook page as a satirical way to make a point about certain issues in today's world.
Clay's remains were cremated at Bohlender Funeral Chapel, Fort Collins. A memorial service will be held in spring 2022 at Sunnyside.