Jim Wright

1922 - 2015

Jim Wright, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and college instructor at TCU, died Wednesday, May 6, 2015, in Fort Worth. Service: 2 p.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church, 800 W. Fifth St., Fort Worth. Interment: City Greenwood Cemetery, Weatherford. Speaker Wright will lie in state 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and a visitation will be held 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Thompson's Harveson & Cole Funeral Home. Memorials: Gifts in his memory may be made to a food bank, a public radio station or a youth boxing organization of the giver's choice. Jim Wright was born Dec. 22, 1922, to James Claude and Marie Lyster Wright. His childhood years were spent in Oklahoma and then Texas during and after the Depression but for the remainder of his life he referred to both Weatherford and Fort Worth as home. This period in his life had a strong impact on his later legislative priorities. He finished his primary education by age 16 and soon thereafter enrolled in Weatherford College and the University of Texas in Austin. In his senior year, Pearl Harbor called many of the young men his age to enlist in the military and to serve their country. Wright enlisted in the Army Air Corps at age 20 and in 1943 flew the first of five legs in the South Pacific movement of the 380th Heavy Bomb Group as a bombardier. During World War II, men painted a personal name on the exterior of their aircraft and Wright's group flew nightly raids from Australia to nearby Japanese bases in a B-24 Liberator Bomber known as Gus's Bus. Soon after enlisting, Jim married his college sweetheart, Mary Ethlyn Lemons, on Dec. 25, 1942. They were married for 28 years and had five children: James C. III; Virginia; Kay; Parker Stephen and Alicia Marie. Mary Ethlyn and Parker Stephen preceded him in death. He married Betty Hay in November 1972 and they lived together in Washington, D.C. and later Fort Worth. Betty was his love and companion for 42 years. Wright returned from the war and at age 23 was elected to the Texas State Legislature as one of the youngest men to ever serve in that body. He subsequently served as mayor of Weatherford and worked in his father's rural economic development business as an advertising agent for National Trades Day. In November 1954 Wright was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas' 12th Congressional District. In Congress he served on the Public Works Committee, Budget Committee and beginning in 1977 as the majority leader for the Democrats in Congress. In 1987, his colleagues elected him to be Speaker of The House. He had many lasting influences in Fort Worth including infrastructure projects such as DFW Airport, veterans' programs and environmental projects. After World War II Wright referred to Congress as a heady place to be, where members of both political parties cooperated to make America a world leader and to build and support a strong middle-class. He said, "We'd had to cast aside the restraining remnants of local chauvinisms, ethnic schisms, religious bigotry, and regional mistrusts. In the words of our pledge of allegiance we were becoming more nearly 'one nation, indivisible.'" He loved the institution. One of the most fulfilling days in Wright's political career came on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy visited Fort Worth to meet and speak to residents. And less than two hours after speaking in Fort Worth, it became one of the most tragic in all of history when the President Kennedy was shot. The whiplash of that day's emotion haunted Jim as one of the happiest then one of the saddest moments in his lifetime. Before leaving Fort Worth, President Kennedy said, "I know of no other city in the United States that is better represented in the Congress of the United States than Fort Worth." Wright's accomplishments as a U.S. Congressman were many. Among his proudest memories he would recall legislation creating the Clean Water Act, interstate highway system, benefits for returning veterans, and the honor he felt as a witness and participant to creating peace. He visited the Middle East, facilitating the initial meeting that lead to the accord between Israel and Egypt in 1977; and in ending the internal strife in Nicaragua in 1988 by leading a compromise to end the U.S.-financed war between the Sandinista Government and the Contras. In foreign affairs Wright enjoyed the role of bipartisanship and peacemaker and Nicaragua was perhaps the most difficult of all bipartisan efforts. To the surprise of an increasingly partisan group of legislators wanting to overthrow the Nicaraguan government, his approach lead to an end to U.S.-financed weapons and to constructive talks among the Nicaraguan leaders and eventually to democratically-held elections. His success lead a similar group of partisan legislators to file ethics charges against him, and even though the initial charges against him were dropped for lack of evidence, the persistence of what had become an increasingly partisan and combative Legislative Branch lead to his resignation. In his resignation speech he said, "When vengeance becomes more desirable than vindication, harsh personal attacks on one another's motives, one another's character, drown out the quiet logic of serious debate on important issues, things that we ought to be involved ourselves in. Surely, that's unworthy of our institution, unworthy of our American political process. All of us in both parties must resolve to bring this period of mindless cannibalism to an end. There's been enough of it." To Jim's constant dismay, he did not live long enough to see the end or even a diminished attack by partisan efforts. After returning to Fort Worth, Wright put his official office papers with the TCU Library and for more than 20 years, he taught at TCU a course on 'Congress and the Presidents." His intention to keep the classes small was not possible and his classes continued to grow by registering interested students. In December 2010, his eyesight had become an insurmountable challenge as a teacher and he retired. Jim Wright approached life with an eager and courageous mission in each pursuit. He had the balance of knowledge, intuition, direction and wisdom that comes from experience. His ability to forgive and move on was amazing, and his desire to overcome was persistent. When he loved he did it with all his heart and he loved this lifetime. Horace Greeley had a quote that Wright used--"and fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures: character." Well done, Jim Wright, your character endures and you will be forever remembered. Survivors: In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by 15 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Betty Lee Wright.