ROCKPORT — James ‘Jim’ Chatterton Clayton, DDS, of Camden, passed away on November 28, 2024, at the age of 93. He was born in Manhattan, New York on December 22, 1930, the only son of Dr. Wiltshire Clark Clayton and his wife Clarice (Chatterton). Since 1978, he resided in Midcoast Maine.

He was a former dentist in Madison, Connecticut and Camden, Maine. He worked as a lobsterman, was a realtor with Douglas Green Realty, and opened Blue Harbor Bed & Breakfast in Camden. For five decades, he kept busy renovating and selling old houses in shoreline Connecticut and coastal Maine.  

Jim attended Port Jefferson High School on Long Island, New York before graduating from The Gunnery (now the Frederick Gunn School) in Washington, Connecticut. He graduated from Cornell University in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science. While at Cornell, he participated in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).

Immediately following graduation, he entered the U.S. Army where he earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He served as a tank platoon leader in Germany with the 5th Infantry Division in Munich and the 2nd Armored Division in Mainz. Upon completing his military service, he worked in New Jersey for the Grange League Federation of America (GLF). In 1963, he earned a DDS from the University of Pennsylvania Dental School. A third-generation dentist, he carried on his family’s legacy through practices in Madison, Connecticut, and Camden, Maine. In retirement, he continued to practice dentistry for Maine’s Center for Community Dental Health.  

Volunteering in a quiet way defined much of Jim’s life. He served as a leader in Cub Scouts and actively participated with his sons in Boy Scout Troop 494 in Madison, Connecticut. He was a firefighter with the North Madison Volunteer Fire Company. He was active in the Congregational churches of North Madison, Connecticut and Camden, Maine, the United Christian Church in Lincolnville, and the Venice Presbyterian Church in Florida. In retirement, he and his wife participated in five overseas trips with the All God’s Children Oral Health Project, volunteering dental skills to orphanages in northern Romania. They also traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia and the island of St. Lucia to provide dental care to children in Catholic orphanages and clinics. In Florida, they volunteered weekly at the Genesis Dental Clinic for the underserved. He also volunteered with a Maine therapeutic horseback riding program, with Heifer International, and at Star Island in the Isles of Shoals, NH.  

His memberships included the Rockport Boat Club, the Rockport Boosters Club, the Lincolnville Boat Club, the Lincolnville Improvement Association, and Ducks Unlimited. An avid antique automobile enthusiast and collector, he joined several antique automobile clubs and volunteered at the Owls Head Transportation Museum. He was often seen driving Model T or Model A Fords in local parades. During his college years, he always had a car engine hanging from a tree by the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house as he pursued his hobby of fixing up old cars. His interests extended to boats, hunting and trapping.  

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Lauralee; his five children, Gregory Clayton (Jonna), Holly Clayton, Douglas Clayton (Amanda), Bruce Clayton (Julie), and Carolee Brakewood (Daniel).

He also leaves behind 13 grandchildren, Christopher Clayton, Brent Clayton (Brienne), Erica Clayton-Bedard (Zachary), DeeDee, Wyn and Tara Clayton, Kelsey, Hector, and Victor Clayton, Katie Clayton (Connor Lehan), Sam Clayton, William and Molly Brakewood; and two great-grandchildren, Ryder and Riggins Bedard.

Private services with military honors will be held, as per the family’s wishes. A celebration of life will follow in the summer of 2025.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to LifeFlight of Maine (The LifeFlight Foundation, PO Box 859, Augusta, ME 04332) or The Lincolnville Improvement Association (℅ Dr. Robert Day, Treasurer, 453 Anderson Road, Warren, ME 04864).  

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland. To share a memory or condolences with the Clayton family, please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.