Joe Clayton is the brother of Jim Clayton who is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Joe was killed Monday after a helicopter carrying the siblings, a grandson, and their family buddy crashed to the Tennessee River.
Joe's body has been recovered by rescue crews around 9:45 p.m. Monday within several feet of the crash site from the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood of West Knoxville.
Moreover, Jim was one of the three passengers who survived the wreck and were rescued by a pontoon boat. Jim stated in a news release"I am devastated and completely emptied by the loss of my superb brother, Joe," and additional"Joe and I had been as close as two brothers can be, and, as only allies, we have supported each other because growing up together to a farm at West Tennessee and as business partners for years."
According to the report, local businessman John McBride and Jim's grandson Flynt Griffin also escaped the wreckage, and all three survivors denied medical treatment. Jim stated,"I am really grateful to the emergency personnel who responded quickly and professionally to the affectionate couple on a nearby ship who helped."
Joe Clayton Family
On August 3, 2020, Clayton, Together with his brother Joe, Clayton Holdings VP Flynt Griffin, and developer John McBride, were onboard Clayton's Eurocopter EC130 as it crashed into the Tennessee River near the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee around 7:45 p.m
The Clayton brothers grew up in the western area of the state in rural Finger, Tennessee.
In 1956they launched an auto dealership and manufactured home company. In 1981, the company divide with Jim taking the Clayton Homes company and Joe focusing on Clayton Volvo and other Southeast dealerships.
Joe, 84, was the only victim of Monday's tragedy. Authorities said they received a report of a helicopter moving into the water and were told that witnesses watched"three individuals swimming [from the river] after it crashed."
At this moment, it is unclear what caused the crash and an investigation is currently underway by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, Corcoran affirmed.
Jim Clayton founded Clayton Homes in 1966 and built it into the United States' largest manufacturer and seller of manufactured home, a publicly-traded company that has been sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2003 for $1.7 billion.