December 4, 1924 – September 22, 2011
John Wright passed away peacefully on September 22, 2011, at the Central Okanagan Hospice House in Kelowna, B.C.. The family was so thankful for the care he received from the hospice staff and volunteers and for the many friends who visited him in his last months.
John was predeceased by his loving wife Joan Agnes on August 16, 2006, his sister Catherine Alice, his brother William Robert Alonzo, and his sister Phyllis Charlotte (Malone). John is survived by his children, Barbara Penner (Bob) and their sons Mark & David, Terry Wright (Ruth) and their daughters Emily & Rachel, Sharon Wright (Steve) and her children Julia & Ross, and Brad Wright and his sons Ryan and Spencer, as well as many nieces and nephews.
John was born in Salmon Arm and grew up nearby in Tappen Valley. In the fall of 1942 John followed his father and brother into the army, and served in the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. After the war Dad briefly attended UBC and then moved north in the summer of 1947, ending up in Terrace where he worked in the forestry industry until his retirement in 1990. He worked many years with Columbia Cellulose and while with them was the superintendent in Nass Camp in the sixties.
John married Joan Agnes Kennedy August 28, 1954, raised their family in Terrace and had many dear and close friends there. John and Joan were big supporters of the Terrace Co-op; John served on its board and Mom and Dad were part of the “Co-op Saturday Lunch Club”. John and Joan moved to Winfield in 2004 with their dear pet Pug “Sophie”. John was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was full of life and liked to keep busy, he enjoyed curling, reading, traveling and spending time with his children, grandchildren and friends. His family and many friends dearly miss him.
A celebration of Dad’s life was held at the First Memorial Funeral Home in Kelowna on September 30, 2011. Inurnment of John and Joan’s ashes will be in the Terrace Municipal Cemetery. In lieu of flowers a memorial donation may be made to the Central Okanagan Hospice House or the Salvation Army.
What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more touch, we may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget.