Clayton Robert Voyles, age 64, passed away this past week at Rapid City Regional Hospital. Clay was born on September 11th, 1953 in Belle Fourche, SD to Frederick “Jack” and Alyce Voyles.

He was an intelligent and accomplished man, graduating simultaneously from high school and vocational technical program at 17 and going on to work his way into a management position at SCI. He met his future wife, Dianne, there and went on to marry her in 1979 and have two daughters, Tiffany (1982) and Heather (1987).

He then started college while raising his family and graduated from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with a bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering. He founded his own company, EARN Inc, and ran it single-handedly until 2007. He then worked for Radiance Technology until he retired.

Clay spent the last years of his life at home with Dianne and their dogs. He passed away on Thursday, May 10th, 2018.

We remember him as a father, a husband, and a strong, determined person who worked hard his whole life to give his family everything he could offer. He was proud of his accomplishments, and those of his children, who learned by his example. He never complained about the challenges life threw at him, preferring to just do the best he could.

Clay was an avid outdoorsman throughout his life. As a child he was introduced to skiing by his aunt Joyce, and enjoyed traveling to Utah, Montana, and Colorado to explore the slopes. He hunted, fished, camped, and hiked, and spent many summers at his family’s cabin in Spearfish Canyon.

Another of his passions was car racing, and he also traveled the Midwest racing his Plymouth Duster. He later bought and ran the Dakota Intermountain Dragway with his father and brother, Kevin. He loved to travel and explore, and with his family made trips all over the Black Hills and Badlands, to Yellowstone, Arizona, California, Florida, and Hawaii. His most recent trip was to Tennessee to witness the total solar eclipse in August 2017.

Clay had a deep love for animals of all kinds and had pets ranging from dogs and cats to rescued turtles, birds, and even a sugar glider. He also had a wry sense of humor and his favorite movies were by the likes of Mel Brooks and Monty Python, and BBC shows like Red Dwarf and Waiting for God. He passed both of these traits on to his children.

He was preceded in death by his father Jack and his grandparents. He is survived by Dianne and his two daughters Tiffany and Heather (Travis), by his mother Alyce, and his brother Kevin (Diane) and his sister Barbara (Bob) as well as numerous nephews and nieces.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Storybook Island, or the Black Hills Humane Society in Rapid City.