It is with great heart break we announce the unexpected passing of Mark Scott Clayton at the age of 45. He passed away at the Medical City Alliance hospital in North Fort Worth midafternoon on Wednesday July 7th, 2021. His wife Jen was at his side in his last moments.
His passing was at the very least swift, he didn’t suffer long and for that we are grateful. We didn’t know he had heart disease, and he always thought of himself as a superman of sorts. As such when the problem became too much for his heart to handle it took him quickly. In one short afternoon it was all over.
Mark was born in Germany September 10th, 1975. He vaguely remembered playing with friends there as a small boy and while he didn’t speak Deutsch, he always said it felt familiar. When he was still very young his parents moved back to the US. They settled in Tucson, Arizona for a time where unknowingly he was close to his future wife Jen. While he was there riding his bike just outside of the local army base, she was born inside of that army base. It would be decades before they actually met but they would repeatedly be in proximity of each other. Soon after this time he and his family moved to Watauga, Texas. Jen lived just miles away in Benbrook. He lived the rest of his life in Texas, but did travel all over the US and made an impact on people worldwide through his art.
To have Mark standing by your side meant you need not fear. When he loved, he loved completely and would put himself between that love and any harm. He loved fearlessly and selflessly. Though he knew many, very few knew him. He was a bright light and a sturdy pillar to those around him.
Those who knew Mark well got to see a side of him that he kept hidden from the rest of the world, a side full of artistic whimsy. He leaves behind a great void; he is missed and always will be. Even the wind seems less alive without him breathing. His deep passion showed in his art; he created many drawings, paintings, comics, tattoos and tattoo machines in his day. One can feel his vibrancy in the brush strokes, the emotion he felt transcends through his artwork. He will live on through these mediums of art. His contribution to the tattoo industry will carry on for generations to come. His designs and creations are producing thousands of tattoos around the world and will continue to nourish creativity amongst these artists.
Mark was truly a modern Renaissance man; he could do it all. His deep passion would shine through brightly and once he set his mind to do something there was no stopping him. This dedication showed in his love for his family, his work and any project or creation he touched.
He leaves behind his wife (Jennifer Clayton) and his three sons (Logan Clayton, Kelton Clayton and Slade Clayton) along with their mom (Jocelyn Clayton). These were and always will be his people. He is missed dearly amongst them. They will carry on his legacy and through his loved ones he will live on.
Farewell my love… I will always search for you in my dreams and beyond.
Loving husband and dedicated father. Mark was a warm light in the lives of those he loved. He is remembered with immense love by his wife Jen and his three sons Logan, Kelton and Slade.
January Allison Hackett Stack
Mark was my first love and everything. I am only going to talk about the good side of Mark because to talk about the bad would not be honorable. We were young. I met him after he had a bad accident and while I was working at Billy Bobs. Our connection was instant. We loved incredibly deep. He asked me to marry him. When he finally mended, we danced a lot. He would draw his comics dreaming of becoming an artist. Todd Mcfarland was at the time his favorite artist. Venom was his obsession at that time. His nickname for me was Plinkin because I had a bracelet, I wore that reminded him of Tinkerbell. He always knew where I was within ear shot by the plink of my bracelet. I would watch him draw for hours upon hours. He painted this beautiful underwater mural at a bar off the lake that spanned the back of the bar. I wonder if it is still there sometimes. One particular picture he drew was me and him levitating in the air intertwined as one. We had Valcor the ball python and Aries the cat which ended up being a bad combination. Megan gave me Aries. With loving hard can come tremendous heartbreak. That is what happened to us. Mark had dark angels in his character that were hard to live with. Life moved us on in different directions. We both moved on to get married and have children later in our lives. Mark contacted me a few times over the years. A few times to reconcile. His last contact with me, Mark sent me a song about 7 years ago. The song actually encompassed love and the pain of our relationship. Last I knew Mark did not believe in God. I do not know if that ever changed. I knew he was raised with religion. I close with I hope you were embraced by God and the Angels, and you find eternal happiness. Love Jan