Private family only Memorial services for James Sibala Lay age 31 will be held 11:00 am Saturday from the Chapel of Norton Funeral Home. The family is welcoming guest for a visitation of remembrance starting at 10:00 am until service time on Saturday at Norton Funeral Home. Father Dan Patineau will officiate the services. Memorial services will be streamed on the Norton Funeral Home Facebook page.
James Sibala Lay was born on January 4, 1989, in Buffalo, New York, the third son of Shawn and Imelda Lay. An outgoing and energetic young child, he was diagnosed at the age of 4 with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism that limited his language abilities and social skills. Despite the challenges that he faced, James remained a happy and generous person and was deeply loved by his family. He especially enjoyed comic books, old movies, classic rock music, and action figures. He also loved to go shopping with his mother and became a well-known and popular figure in Hartsville. James was diagnosed in early 2018 with Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive cancer that only rarely afflicts adults. For more than two years he fought this disease with everything he had, demonstrating incredible courage and fortitude. He was a wonderful and special young man who will be terribly missed.
Left to cherish his memory are his parents, brothers Alexander Lay and Lawrence Lay, and sister Katerina Lay.