Harold Thomas Wright

We lost, at least for a time, HAROLD THOMAS WRIGHT, on June 16, 2005, exactly two months before his 80th birthday. We had already lost his beloved wife, Mary Margaret (Peggy) Patterson Wright. Still here to carry on as he taught us are son Tom and his family (wife Bonnie, Kate & Patterson); daughter Peg and her sons (Matthew & Duncan McCullough); daughter Julia St. Pierre; and daughter Nancy and her family (husband Mike Driessen & Pierce). Dad was born and raised in Tulsa, though his heart yearned for his family cabin in the woods at Cedar Crest, Arkansas. He was an Eagle Scout and a brother in the Order of the Arrow. He graduated from Oklahoma Military Academy, where he learned to lead cavalry charges with saber drawn, then took those skills into the Navy in World War II. He later graduated from Oklahoma A&M and started on the rig floor for Humble Oil & Refining, rising through Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Exxon, USA, from which he retired. His chief pursuits, outside of providing for and teaching his family, were an insatiable thirst for history and tennis. From Dad we learned to: •Play to win. •Take care of your Mother. •Take care of your family. •Be disciplined. •Make good use of dinner-table conversation. •Confront adversity head on. •See America first. •Persist. •George Washington is the greatest American. •Serve mankind, as he did as a member of the Greatest Generation. •Know your job. •Appreciate Broadway musicals. •Demonstrate outward and visible signs of patriotism. •The best times are with family. •Push any envelope. •Read any good book. •Do your best scholastically. •Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it. •The Errol Flynn fencing scenes in Robin Hood are the gold standard for movie entertainment. We hold Dad forever in our thoughts, just as his favorite author, Winston Churchill, described his friend George Bernard Shaw: "This bright, nimble fierce and comprehending being„venerable, profound and irresistible." A celebration of Dad's life will be held at the Church of the Holy Spirit (12535 Perthshire Road, Houston) on Wednesday, June 22nd at 1:00 P.M. A reception with the family will follow the service. Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Church of the Holy Spirit.