Lee Wright

On September 18, 2021 Lee Wright moved on to join the party of family and friends in heaven. Although he had a number of specialists working on various parts of his body for years, there was a surprise reappearance of the bladder cancer less than two months ago, and nothing else could be done. Hospice became our beloved last set of helpers, Lee was 85, born on April 30, 1936, and lived the fullest life imaginable up to the last few days. He left me (his wife) to tell the world about what was important to him. "How do you catch a moonbeam in your hands?" That is Lee. Singer of others' music. Filling the world with his own music. "Just tell them to listen to my CD's first 3 songs," he says. "Mom and Dad's Song, Karla and Marci's Song, Alice's Song." His friends' tributes on Facebook all describe him as being one of the kindest, most gentlemen in the world. "He's so comfortable to talk to. He never says anything bad about anyone." I always marveled at how he would tell anyone and everyone how much he appreciated them, even when he was having difficulty in getting a problem solved. He was the best gift I was ever given.

Lee's two careers - 25 years with Kansas Water Resources Board and 32 years with KTWU - allowed him to do what he wanted to do: care for the environment, care for people. Thank God every day. Use photography, writing, and singing to carry the messages and inspire others to do the same. Degrees from Pratt Junior College and Kansas State University were not as important as listening to God's direction for his life. He wanted to impart that message to his two daughters, Karla and Marci, the 4 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren. I had given up thoughts of getting married when Lee and I married at age 36. I received 15 year old and 17 year old step-daughters with the marriage. Then Lee and I spent 42 years of a charmed life together making innumerable friends in coffeehouses, Beds and Breakfasts, church, and everywhere we went. I made it to all 50 states, Lee, to just 48. We were wanderers - loving blue highways, serendipity, and discoveries. I listened to him perform. He listened to me present programs on children and families in the United States and abroad. Together we wrote songs and Lee recorded some of them. He raised money for public television. I spent some of the money he earned on purchases from his underwriters. We both wrote for publications. We lived a charmed life with the periodic challenges that all human beings experience. We always worked together to solve problems, trying to practice loving and being non-judgmental, seeking to understand rather than being understood, but we were far from perfect. We saw our Christianity as our foundation and our parents, as our most important teachers. I had a lot to learn about step-parenting teenagers and marveled that Lee could be so supportive of both me and his kids. You have only to read both Lee's and my extensive Facebook posts to step into our lives. We were both shy children. You would never guess it from seeing our posts or hearing us perform. The Holy Spirit worked magic. Lee would sing "God, make me an instrument of thy peace" and I would add "sorrow full of joy" as we walked through the hills and valleys of our married life.

Our home reflects our love of beauty through an extensive collection of art work from artists who add their contributions to the flawed but beautiful world we will always support. Our house is a renovated day camp built by my father with major magic touches from others. Its stories could be a book.

Parents: Merritt and Edith Wright (now deceased)
Children: Karla Hall (Ian) and Marci Fairweather (Dean)
Grandchildren: Alicia Sharp, Matthew Volpert, Timothy Volpert, Jesse Volpert
Great-grandchildren: Evelynn, Sophia, Brayden, Devin, Myles; Aidan, Nadia; Marie, Nico
Wife: Alice Eberhart-Wright
Ian has a daughter with two children in Scotland.

Remembrances in Stories, Songs, and Scripture for Lee Wright
4:00 October 17, 2021
First United Methodist Church, Topeka, KS

In Lee's memory, we ask that you donate yourselves, services, and/or finances to causes that provide healing and unity to this hurting world.

To leave a message for Lee's family, please visit the guestbook below.