Title	Mr.
Last Name	Coourser
First Name	Clayton
Middle Name
Maiden Name
Nick Name
Place of Birth	Haverhill, Mass
Date of Birth	1893-02-07
Place of Death	Hospital, Hartland, ME.
Date of Death	1954-07-29
Publication	The Eastern Gazette 8-5-1954 pg 1
Obituary	Clayton (Skip) Courser, 61, proprietor of the Pittsfield Hardware Company and a former resident of Ripley died July 29, in a Hartand hospital, where he had been a patient for a few days. The death of his wife, the former Katherine OBrien, 63,who had been in ill health for several years, occurred tow weeks previously on July 15 at their home on Waverly avenue, Pittsfield. Her burial was in a Haverhill, Mass., cemetery. Funeral services for Mr. Courser were held Sunday, Aug.1, in the First Universalist Church of Pittsfield. The Rev. Sterling Helmer officiated, assisted by the Rev. Donald Hinckley, minister of the church. Interment was in the family lot at the Lang cemetery, St Albans. Many former Ripley neighbors and Dexter friends attended the service. Mr. Courser was born in Haverhill, Mass. Feb. 7, 1893, son of James and Lizzie Prescott Courser. A graduate of the high school in that city he was employed for several as a cutter in the Haverhill shoe factories. Later, after his marriage they came to Maine to make their home. Je was well-known as a fiddler, playing at dances in Ripley and Dexter and for many years was a member of Shoreys Orchestra of Pittsfield. In 1937 he and Nelson Lane purchased the stock in the Pittsfield store of the late Fred Peasley and he began his career as a hardware merchant. In 1942 Courser purchased Lanes shares and became the owner of the Pittsfield Hardware Company. He was a member of Meridian Lodge, A.F. & A.M., the Maine Hardware Association and the New England Hardware Dealers Association. He is survived by three brothers, James of Newton Jct.,N.H. John of Haverhill, Mass. and one nephew, James, Jr. of Newton Jct., N.H.