OBITUARY

Obituaries

Margaret M. Wright

August 11, 1912 - August 6, 2004

Margaret M. Wright, 91, of Friday Harbor, San Juan County, Washington, passed away in her sleep, August 6, 2004, five days short of her 92nd birthday. Her daughter, Nancy Lindenberg, and the family gratefully acknowledge the generous and compassionate care given by the staff at Olde English Roses and September House, and excellent care provided by Dr.Chris White, Dr. Burk Gossom and Susan Hill, ARNP. She had lived on San Juan Island for about three years.

Margaret Mary Wright, daughter of George William Ley and Mary Jane (Wamsley) Ley, was born on August 11, 1912, in Mabton, WA. She grew up in the Yakima Valley region with her sisters, Mildred and Ruth, attending grade school and high school in Wapato. She also attended Washington State College for one year, and was briefly a pledge of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

Margaret worked at Yakima First National Bank after graduating from high school, and on the eve of her departure for college was honored at a dinner bridge party which featured a surprise hanky shower. Due to the constraints of the depression era, she was only able to attend one year. After her marriage on January 21, 1934, to Richard William Wright of Wapato, the couple lived in Yakima, Seattle and Bainbridge Island, as well as Vienna, Virginia and Bremerton. During World War II she worked briefly at the Winslow Shipyard and the local bank. She worked for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Seattle for three years. Her three children have many fond memories of growing up on Bainbridge Island.

Margaret and Richard Wright were married and cared for each other for over 60 years. A gifted amateur musician all her life, Margaret began playing the piano in high school and performed at many dances and parties. She has lifted many hearts with her musical inspiration, playing piano and organ, singing and writing arrangements for the Sweet Adelines in Vienna Falls, Virginia, and in Bremerton with the Kitsap Pines Sweet Adelines. Margaret and Richard enjoyed traveling after retirement, driving across Canada and across the southern states, visiting Florida, the Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal. In later years they spent winters in Florence, Arizona. Their last home was in Allyn, Washington, on the Lakeland Village Golf Course.

Margaret had a gift for making holidays, birthdays, and other events very special for her family. She welcomed relatives and friends with endless hospitality, whether it was dinner dances, pinochle games, amateur performances, digging clams on the beach or playing golf. She wrote many long, cheerful letters throughout the years, and sent and received hundreds of greeting cards, keeping in touch with old friends from childhood days. She knew all of her grandchildren well and was always concerned for their welfare.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth Howard, of Yakima, WA., her three children: Nancy Lindenberg, of Friday Harbor, WA; James B. Wright, of Preston, CT; and Richard L. Wright, of Las Vegas, NV.;four cousins in the Yakima area; three nieces and two nephews; as well as twelve grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 21st at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Gig Harbor, Washington. Initial arrangements for private burial were made under the direction of Evans Funeral Chapel, Anacortes, WA.

Memorials may be made to the Salvation Army or any local school music programs.

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