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Wayne Mitchell Wright

1934 - 2023

Wayne Mitchell Wright

1934 - 2023

Obituary

Guest Book

BORN

1934

DIED

2023

About

Bowdoin College Harvard University University of Texas Habitat for Humanity

Wayne Wright Obituary

Obituary published on Legacy.com by Avenidas Cremation & Burial - Tucson from Mar. 7 to Mar. 8, 2023.

Wayne Mitchell Wright, 88, passed away on March 4, 2023, in Marana, Arizona. He was born to Carl and Edith Wright on July 12, 1934, in Sanford, Maine.

Wayne was valedictorian of Sanford High School's class of 1952. He completed his undergraduate work at Bowdoin College in Maine in 1956, and his doctorate in Applied Physics at Harvard University in 1961. In 1962, Wayne began his career as an educator at Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He taught physics for 37 years and served as the Physics Department Chairman for 24 years until his retirement in 1999.

Wayne's area of expertise was nonlinear acoustics, physical acoustics, sound propagation in the air, and Opto-acoustics. He was an active fellow of the Acoustical Society of America, serving as Secretary from 1977 to 1986. Wayne was always eager to learn and took advantage of every opportunity to broaden his knowledge. He conducted many sabbatical research projects in prestigious research labs and consulted for the Applied Research Labs (ARL) at the University of Texas at Austin for nearly 40 years.

After retiring from Kalamazoo College, Wayne and his wife, Mary, moved to Georgetown, Texas, where he continued to consult part-time at ARL. In addition, they spent summers in Ogunquit, Maine, and enjoyed traveling domestically and abroad. Wayne was a devoted husband to Mary until her passing in 2014.

Wayne was passionate about raising his four children and will be remembered for spending time with them in the canoe, gardening, camping, and on road trips. During his retirement, he kept active by playing tennis, square dancing, and spending time with his grandchildren.

Wayne is survived by his four children, Catherine Wright (Ben Arditi, Marana, AZ), Peter Wright (Diane Durbeck, Sunnyvale, CA), Laura Wright (Mike Pierce, North Haven, CT), and Daniel Wright (Anna McDole Wright, San Jose, CA); his four grandchildren, Melissa, Emily, Matthew, and Carl; and sister, Eileen Atkins (Hattiesburg, MS).

A private service will be held in Maine later this year. He will be remembered for his passion for learning, his dedication to his family, and his contributions to the field of physics and education.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Habitat for Humanity or your local food bank.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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John Anderson

June 16, 2023

Wayne, you were a good neighbor, friend, and sometime counselor for over 20 years. When we were in Ogunquit at the same time, I valued the daily visits we enjoyed about the beautiful town we loved, who would be our summer guests, when you would be borrowing one of my bicycles for your grandson, which you always took pride in repairing. We exchanged house keys and looked after each others house when one of us was absent or my alarm went off. In recent years, age and the loss of our wives, changed the length of time we spent enjoying our summer homes and the time we together was by email. I miss my dear friend and neighbor but know you are going to a better place.