Donald Drew Wright

Donald Drew Wright, 80, Devoted and loving grandfather, brother, father, uncle, and friend, passed away on September 6, 2012, at Blount Memorial Hospital after a short hospitalization. He was preceded in death by his mother Carrie Rose Wright; his father, Drew Deweese Wright; and his niece, Susan Butler Lonnon. He is survived by his sister, Mary Wright Butler; his children: James Lawrence and wife Belinda Davis Wright; Samuel Jay Wright and wife Yi Zhu; David Drew Wright and wife Bridget Lynn McKinley; Alice Jan Wright and husband Joga Rao; his grandchildren: Savannah Marie Wright; Sarah Francis Wright; Alexandra Rose Wright; Lauren Mary Wright; Lacey Allison Wright; Jia Wei Wu; Devin Drew McKinley-Wright; Nola Marie McKinley-Wright; his nieces and nephews: Bill Lonnon; Leah Lonnon, Bert, Trey and Rosemarie Costner; Joshua, Julie, Alex and Charlie Lonnon; Michael, Anna and Jack Lonnon. Besides being a loving grandfather, brother, father, uncle and friend, Don was an active part of much of the 20th Century. He was born during the Great Depression on January 12, 1932 in Topton, NC. His father was a road engineer and the family moved often for Dons early life during the Great Depression and World War II. The family lived for a time in Oak Ridge, TN during the Manhattan Project. He attended 13 different schools during his first 12 years of school. The Monday after his graduation from Glenwood High School in Glenwood, NC, he began classes at Indiana Technical College in Fort Wayne, IN. He graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering from Indiana Tech, and later with a Masters Degree from Rollins College in Winter Haven, FL. After graduating from college, he served in the United States Army, developing nuclear artillery ordinance at the height of the Cold War. During part of his service he spent a very cold time in Fort Churchill, Canada, above the Arctic Circle, testing nuclear artillery. His engineering career included: working for McDonell Douglas at Cape Kennedy, FL, for all of the Apollo launches; working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory; working for Martin Marietta on intercontinental ballistic missiles; and, for 25 years at TVA, helping to deliver power to East Tennessee and the rest of the region. He was an almost 40-year member of Broadway Baptist Church. Despite the understanding that he is in a better place, Don is missed terribly by everyone who knew him from his family and friends to his long-time neighbors in Eagleton Village, to the wait staff at the Cracker Barrel. His life embodied the philosophy: may you live, may you love, may you matter. Funeral services will be 4:00 p.m. Sunday, September 9, 2012, at McCammon-Ammons-Click Chapel. The interment will be 2:00 p.m. Monday in Valleytown Cemetery, Andrews, NC. The family will receive friends 2:00-4:00p.m. Sunday at the funeral home. www.mccammonammonsclick.com