Artha Wright

Artha Jennie Terwilliger Wright, longtime resident of Friendswood and wife of former Friendswood Police Chief, Joseph "Mitch" Wright, passed peacefully from this life on July 28, 2015. She was 87 years old.

Born October 5, 1927 in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania to William Bird Terwilliger and Ethelinda Marie Elizabeth Martha Minor, Artha grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, graduating from Catonsville High School in 1945 before attending the Peabody Conservatory of Music, also in Baltimore. It was there that she met the man who would be her husband, partner, best friend and other half for almost 66 years. He tells of the first time he saw her coming down the spiral staircase of the Peabody Library and the immediate realization that this was the woman he was going to marry. He proposed to her on their second date and she said yes on their third. They were married on August 23, 1949.

Mitch's music career brought them to Texas and eventually they settled in Friendswood. Artha took a job as a school crossing guard and from there she and Mitch eventually became the foundation of the Friendswood Police Department, actually answering the police phone from their own home in the early days. Artha worked as a reserve officer, dispatcher, city and court clerk and eventually as the town's first City Secretary before leaving the workforce to raise her three daughters.

Artha was an accomplished seamstress, a creative and inventive crafter and model railroader, and an incredible cook. She found joy in everything around her and never stopped seeking out new things to experience and learn. Nature was a lifelong passion. Artha knew every flower, tree and bird and was a friend to every living creature. She and Mitch loved to travel and were able to visit every state except Hawaii, as well as Alaska twice and parts of Canada in their beloved RV "Lindy". She loved all types of music, was an avid reader and enjoyed puzzles and games of all kinds. Most of all, Artha was the most loving and incredible mother and wife. She loved with her whole heart and without condition or limitation. Her greatest joy was her family and caring for them was her greatest pleasure. She taught her children how to love completely, give generously, and to creatively make all that you can out of what you have. She was simply the best and she will be greatly missed by all who loved her.

Artha was preceded in death by her parents, W.B and Ethelinda Terwilliger. She is survived by her loving husband, Joseph Mitchell Wright Jr., her daughters, A.J. (Artha Jo) Beicker and husband Karl of Alvin, TX, Amy Weaver and husband, Phil of Pflugerville, TX and Beth Sharpe and husband, Walt of Texas City, TX, nine grandchildren and ten great grandchildren as well as her brother, Lawrence Jan Terwilliger and wife, Juanita of Quartzite, Arizona.

Cremation has been performed according to her wishes.

A memorial visitation will be held on Saturday, August 15, 2015 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jeter Memorial Funeral Home Chapel, 311 N. Friendswood Drive (FM 518), Friendswood, TX 77546, www.jeterfuneralhome.com. Anyone who wishes to pay their respects to the family is invited to come by at that time.