Kaylee Elaine Clayman
Kaylee Elaine Clayman, 33, of Mentor, passed away unexpectedly at her home on May 3, 2025. She was born Feb. 17, 1992, in Euclid.
Kaylee worked as a heavy hauler with Maverick Environmental for nearly two years and absolutely loved every minute of it. She found her groove in the multi-axle setups and loved a good challenge. She considered “Team Mav” a second family to her and enjoyed having holiday parties and get-togethers at Tim and Lori’s (her work Mom and Dad). She looked forward to the huge box of meats they would give her after the fair every year. She said it was like Christmas Jr.
Before Maverick, she was an OTR truck driver and got to experience the 48 states and Canada in a semi. From mountains to swamp lands, to flat lands, ocean sides and winding through the huge redwoods, she got to see it all and made a whole lot of friends along the way. She hauled everything during that time and was able to stop at her favorite places like Maria’s Tacos, Midland, Barstow, Iowa 80, Las Vegas Speedway and Beaver, Utah, just to name a few.
One of her favorite jobs she got the chance to be a part of was hauling stage equipment for Shomotion and touring with her Shomotion trucker family. She also got to haul equipment and travel with a German heavy metal band, Rammstein, and attend all of their concerts.
Kaylee knew where to go to get the best tacos in the country—and it shouldn’t surprise you that it came from the back of a minivan on the Mexico border from a sweet lady who spoke no English. Second to that was her favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rodeo, in Mentor, Ohio, which came in the closest with their birria tacos.
Kaylee loved spending time with her horses, Pistol, Partner, Penelope and Howitzer. She was her sister’s ride-or-die pick-up man and would ride right alongside her and always ready to catch her if things got a little too hairy. The last time she rode with her sister was in the blistering cold and snow over Thanksgiving through Christmas out at TJ’s. Looking back now, we are so thankful they got those last rides together…even when they couldn’t feel their hands and feet for a while afterwards.
She enjoyed customizing her pickup truck “Betty White” and making it smell good. She had a wild side that included getting tattoos and piercings that made her happy and going out to the movies with her son and family and getting popcorn in buckets bigger than their heads, laughing, and having a good time.
Kaylee could Amazon and online shop to her heart’s content. She loved supporting small and up-and-coming businesses and always tried to have 100 pairs of jeans on standby at home.
Kaylee enjoyed being a girly girl when she wasn’t slinging chains and binders. Getting her hair done with her best friend and stylist, Jesse, and her nails done with her good friend and master nail tech, Tre. When she was done getting all fresh, new and “basic,” she enjoyed just being in her PJ’s and spending time at home with her family and son.
Catching up and binge watching shows with her dad, mom and brother was so important and special to her. She loved eating home-cooked meals by her mom because the food on the road just wasn’t what she had a taste for, even though some of the Canadian food came close.
Going to hockey games with her son and brother were also a huge highlight in her life. She loved going to sporting events with her brother, especially football games. She would surprise her sister with VIP passes to concerts all the time and then have her sister pretend to be “hurt” so they could park near the tour buses.
She enjoyed watching her trainer, TJ Pumphrey, of M Bar P Performance Horses, of Pierpont, Ohio, show her horse to his best ability and rock it across many arenas such as The All American Quarter Horse Congress, WEC of Ocala, the Virginia Maiden and the Buckeye Classic. Howie was just scratching the surface of his show career and Kaylee couldn’t be more proud of him. She never thought she would see the day he would even be riding because his mom had a strong dislike for him at birth. Kaylee slept with Howie in the barn or in her car outside the barn and helped him latch onto his mom every two hours. She had to flip him like a pancake when he was laying on one side too long to keep him from getting pneumonia. She became momma and is the reason he thrived and is the horse he is today.
Her adult success would not have been possible without her upbringing.
Kaylee excelled at absolutely everything she did. She was second chair with the bass and played in the chamber orchestra. She was a proud member of The Lake County 4-H in a club that her mom started for her kids, Spinnin’ Spurs, and got to show all disciplines with her horses. She also took a venture into livestock and had a ball showing market sheep with the Flockmasters Unlimited Club.
Kaylee played lacrosse and was a goalie for Mentor High School and a scorekeeper for basketball. During her last two years of high school, she went to Lakeland Community College for CAD engineering and was student of the year for both years. She always said she got the work ethic you all see as an adult from working at a traveling pony ride called the pony ride express starting at 8 years old until 16.
One of the biggest fans in her life has always been her Mimi. She took her to art classes, got her first heart horse Dooley, got her a bass as a step up from the cello and watched her carefully through her life as she took on her new careers and then was thrilled to see her find great happiness in truck driving.
Above all, Kaylee’s son, Koenraad, will always be her proudest achievement in her life. She would go to the ends of the earth to make him happy and give him a good life. Now she is his angel above, watching and protecting him forever.
Survivors include her son, Koenraad; parents, Barry and Debra Clayman; siblings, Kourtney (Christopher “Topher”) Hinkle and Kyle Clayman; maternal grandmother, Janet “Mimi” Dyer; her aunt and uncle, Cindie Wright and Harold “Keith” (Adele) Dyer Jr.; many, many more wonderful cousins and dear family; and her entire trucking family and friends from all over the world (sticky side down/shiny side up).
She was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Harold “Duke” Dyer Sr.; grandparents, Harry Clayman and James Eugene “Jim” “Gene” and Margaret Patrick; uncle, Kenneth “Kenn” Dyer; aunt, Terry Long. Her heart horses, Poncho, Tuff and Dooley.
The family will receive friends from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, May 16, 2025, and again from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8466 Mentor Ave., Mentor.
A funeral service to conclude the gathering will begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made directly to the family to provide further support for her son.
Please offer condolences at www.brunners.com.
