Clay Wesley Tarter, age 68 of Guthrie, Oklahoma was born on November 20, 1953, in Oklahoma City to Carl Lee and Elsie (Base) Tarter. He passed away on June 5, 2022, in Edmond.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 46 years Cheryl, daughter Linh Sasser of Oklahoma City, sister Cheryl Kerr and husband Greg of Marion, North Carolina; brother-in-law Dennis Ochs and wife Karen of Guthrie; and mother-in-law Sylvia Ochs of Guthrie. Clay is also survived by his nieces and nephews: Laura Wiley and husband Josh; Melissa Angles and husband Jarred and their son Daxton; Timothy Kerr and wife Megan and their children Elsie and Samuel; Emily Kerr; Lindsey Mallory and husband Patrick and their children Connor, Luke, Bentley, and Paxton; Jill Ochs and husband Kyle White and their children Ella, Cruz, Kannon, and Emerson. He is preceded in death by his parents.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at 10:30 A.M. at Community Church (512 E. Seward Rd., Guthrie, OK 73044). Burial will follow at Summit View Cemetery. The casket will not be open at the service.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 12th from 12:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. and on Monday, June 13th from 9:00 A.M. – 7:00 P.M. at Hayes Funeral Home.
Clay Tarter was a legendary high school track and field, and cross country coach in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Tarter graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Health and P.E. with a minor in History. He began his teaching career in 1977 at Guthrie Public Schools. Tarter taught U.S. History, government and coached football, track and was instrumental in starting the cross country program at GHS. Tarter also coached men’s and women’s cross country at Northwestern Oklahoma State University (2016).
“The Bluejays lost a great one tonight,” said Dr. Mike Simpson, Superintendent, Guthrie Public Schools. “Clay and I had become good friends through the time we spent together in Lions Club. He was always downplaying his personal accomplishments while touting the achievements of our student-athletes. In his 44 years of coaching, he never quit serving students. Multiple times, he even found his way back into the classroom after his official retirement following the 2009 school year, while remaining a fixture at the track.”
Tarter was named GHS Teacher of the Year (1983, 2005, 2007), Oklahoma Cross Country Coach of the Year (1993, 2003), inducted into the Guthrie Athletic Hall of Fame (1994), National High School Coaches Association’s Regional Cross Country Coach of the Year (2008), inducted into the Oklahoma Track Coaches Hall of Fame (2010), Oklahoma Coaches Association’s Cross Country Coach of the Year (1982, 1983, 2010 - an undefeated season), National Coach of the Year for Boys Cross Country Top Ten Finalist (2010), and National Federation of State High School Associations Coach of the Year and Sectional Award Honor (2012).
Tarter has held nine state titles, more than any coach in GHS history with cross country (2009, 2010), back-to-back titles in track and field. As head coach he led six Boys State Championship Teams, one Girls State Championship Team, has had four State Champion Athletes, three Academic State Championship teams and fourteen State-Runner-Up teams. “One of his greatest sources of pride was coaching so many children of parents he also coached when they were in high school,” said Simpson. “The number of lives he impacted in a positive way in this community and beyond are endless. Tonight, I hurt and pray for Cheryl, the rest of the family and our student athletes who also grieve his passing. Tomorrow morning, I’m sure there will be a new coach leading runners along the streets of gold.”
In addition to crosscountry and track,Tarter loved auto racing, cars, going to concerts, road tripping to Santa Fe and the East Coast. Tarter loved creating art from found pieces and painting.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the Guthrie Educational Foundation in memory of Coach Clay Tarter.
(802 E. Vilas, Guthrie, OK 73044)
Services are under the direction of Hayes Funeral Home.
Friends and family may sign the online guestbook at www.hayesfh.com.