Frank Wright

Frank Moss Wright died Jan. 11, 2014, at home. He was 85. A celebration of Frank’s life will be on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. For more information, call Yolanda Bodine at 530-478-0763. Frank was born Nov. 22, 1928, in Philadelphia, Penn., to Minturn Tatum Wright Jr. and Anna Moss Wright. He attended the William Penn Charter School in Germantown. In 1939, the family moved to West Hartford, Conn., where Frank attended the Kingswood Academy and later graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., in 1947. At Hotchkiss he was captain of the football team, winning the football award; played hockey and ran track; served on the student council; and was president of his senior class. Frank attended Princeton University, where he was a member of Tiger Inn and rowed on the 150-pound crew. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in civil engineering and then served with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Korea during the Korean War. After the war, he moved from Philadelphia to Pueblo, Colo., where he worked as an industrial engineer for the Colorado Fuel and Iron Corp. He moved to Los Angeles in 1955, where he worked for McDonnell Douglas as a structural engineer and an engineering supervisor on airplanes and space vehicles until his retirement in 1988. He received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering at The University of California, Berkley in 1961. Not long after retiring, Frank moved to Nevada City and became active in the community. He was particularly interested in environmental causes. Chief among those was the South Yuba River Citizens League, where for years he was on a team that monitored the river and calibrated the pH meters. He leaves at the league many good friends who remember him as kind, gentle, compassionate and funny, with a zest for life. Frank is survived by his brother, Minturn Tatum Wright III; his sister, Ethel Wright White; 10 nieces and nephews; 14 great-nieces and great-nephews; and a great-great-nephew. He was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Nancy Wright Pepper; his sister-in-law, Nonya Stevens Wright; and his brother-in-law, Galen Jefferson White Jr. Frank loved to ski and to travel. He was devoted to his community and to his many generous and helpful friends, who gave his life great warmth, depth and feeling.

Frank Wright

November 22, 1928 - January 11, 2014