My continuing research into the Coker and Copeland families turned up this obituary for William Henry Clayton, Junior, the husband of Dessie Coker, as published in the 26 April 1973 edition of The Odessa American of Odessa, Texas.

WILLIAM H. CLAYTON

CRANE (Staff) – Funeral services for William Henry Clayton Jr., 74, a 28-year[1] resident of Crane, who died early Wednesday in Crane Memorial Hospital following a short illness, will be 2 p.m. Friday in the Assembly of God Church.

Burial will be in Crane Memorial Gardens directed by Larry D. Sheppard Funeral Home.

A native of Arkansas, Clayton was born Feb 24, 1899. He married Dessie Coker Oct 28, 1918[2] in Booster, Ark. A pumper for an oil Company, Clayton was a member of the Assembly of God Church.

Survivors include his widow; a daughter, Mrs. Dolan Tippton of Crane; two sons, E. C. Clayton of Crane and C. W. Clayton of Bellingham, Wash.; two sisters, Mrs. Ola Bell of Clinton, Ark. and Mrs. Mabel Alling of Dewey, Okla.; three brothers, Byron Clayton of Romoland, Calif., Glenn Clayton of Frederick, Okla., and Leon Clayton of Wittsprings[3], Ark.; nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

Notes

[1] William moved to Crane, Texas circa 1945, based on this obituary.

[2] William and Dessie’s actual date of marriage was 27 October 1918, according to the digital image of the Van Buren County marriage record available online at FamilySearch.org. The date was also stated incorrectly in Dessie’s obituary.

Clayton Coker Marriage

[3] Actually, Witts Springs.

Sources

NewspaperARCHIVE.com. The Odessa American, 26 April 1973 , page 2A. Retrieved on 26 July 2012.

"Arkansas, County Marriages, 1837-1957," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NMG8-535 : accessed 26 July 2012), William H Clayton, 1918.