Herman Maxwell Clay, Jr. passed away Saturday, June 29 at home in Weston Lakes (Fulshear), Texas. Born to Herman and Billie Clay, May 11, 1940, in Dallas, he heeded his father’s observation that there would always be a need for engineers and attended Southern Methodist University, and later Texas Tech and the University of Texas, culminating in a PhD in civil engineering. He and his family moved to Houston where he established O’Malley and Clay Engineering along with his partner Richard O’Malley of Brenham, Texas, and later Clay and Leyendecker Engineering in Katy, Texas with subsequent partner David Leyendecker. Dr. Clay will be remembered by those who knew him as a man of wit and wisdom, conversant in many fields of thought and endeavor, comfortable in virtually any company; a fabulous storyteller; a voracious reader. He took care of his family; his advice, often sought, was thoughtful and considered. He played a significant role in the growth and development on the west side of Houston. He was careful with a penny. A man of simple pleasures, he took great satisfaction in his carefully maintained acreage of pecan trees along the Brazos River near Wallis, Texas. Dr. Clay was predeceased by his second wife, Louise Abt Clay; survived by his first wife, Sheila Moon; son, Rush Clay, wife Lucy and children Dominic and his wife, Grace, and Billie; and daughter, Lisa Dimmitt, husband Todd and children Maxwell and Alexander. He will be profoundly missed. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Texas Panhandle Wildfire Relief Fund. For further information on this cause, visit https://texasfarmbureau.org/panhandle-wildfire-relief-fund/ or contact Tina Duty directly at 254-751-2432 or tduty@txfb.org