Howard Wright Jr.

July 20, 2008 12:26 am

— Feb. 14, 1926 - July 19, 2008
Howard Wright Jr., 82, Kokomo, died 8:08 a.m. Saturday, July 19, 2008, at Howard Regional Health System. He was born Feb. 14, 1926, in Hollansburg, Ohio, the son of Howard Wright Sr. and Mary A. (Wehrley) Wright. He married Anita Lavonne Estes on Aug. 21, 1953, and she preceded him in death April 10, 1997. He married Phyllis Wanita McCauley on Jan. 3, 1998, at First Baptist Church in Kokomo, and she survives.
He was a 1944 graduate of Richmond High School and attended Washington University. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1955 with a bachelor degree in engineering followed by a master of science degree in engineering from Purdue University in 1964. He served in the military in 1944 and 1945 and was a corporal with the U.S. Army Air Corps.
Howard was an engineer for Delco Radio from 1955 until 1990. Previous employment included stints as a news reporter for the Palladium-Item newspaper in 1945 and as a newscaster for WKBR in 1947. He was published in the General Motors Engineering Journal and had also written articles for Delco and Time Life. He had patents on inventions dating back to 1964.
He was a member of South Side Christian Church, where he served as a deacon. He had also been active at the Baptist Church where he served as an elder. He taught Sunday school and was involved in several outreach ministries as well as supporting numerous missionary programs. He and his wife, Anita, provided foster care for many children and he was an active supporter of Scouting. He had belonged to the Elks Club years ago.
Survivors include his wife, Wanita; two sons, John Wright, Richmond, Va., and William Wright, Porter, Okla.; two daughters, Dixie Wiley, St. Louis, and Michelle Wright, Bringhurst; 23 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; two nephews, Stan Wright, Indianapolis, and Myron Wright, Kokomo; one niece, Lorrie Sloan, Corpus Christi, Texas; extended family, Beverlee Robinson, Hawaii, and Greg McCauley, Carmel. He was preceded in death by his first wife in 1997 and a son, Daniel Wright, in 1995.
Funeral services are 10 a.m. Tuesday at Shirley and Stout Funeral Home, Lincoln Road Chapel, 1315 W. Lincoln Road, with the Rev. Dr. Leon Nickelson officiating. Burial will follow in Albright Cemetery with military honors by the U.S. Army and Kokomo VFW Military Rites Team. Friends may call at the funeral home 4 to 8 p.m. Monday. Online condolences may be left at
www.shirleyandstout.com.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.