Thomas Edward Wright

He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 14, 1930 and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Tom became a U.S. citizen in 1986, maintaining dual citizenship the remainder of his life. He married Angela “Angie” Bahorski Wright on November 3, 1978 and they enjoyed life in Florida and North Carolina through the years, visiting Canada whenever they could.

Tom’s career was spent in the airlines working for Canadair, Colonial Airlines, and Eastern Airlines. He started as an office boy as a teenager, progressed to a mechanic and ultimately was the Technical Foreman for Systems Control for Eastern. Tom moved from Canada to South Florida in the 1960s where he continued to work for the airlines before retiring in 1985. During his career, Tom accompanied many important flights including:

• Flying the University of Miami Hurricanes to game destinations (including a trip to Tallahassee where they beat up on the Noles one year)

• Flying the Miami Dolphins around the country (including the 1972 undefeated team who won the Super Bowl)

• Being the designated technical supervisor for Eastern when the first Airbus was imported from France in the early 1970s

• Being part of a Life Flight to Ethiopia in which food, water, and hygiene supplies were delivered to those in need

• Working in the Seattle area during the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980

• Recovered the crew from the Challenger STS 7 Flight in 1983, which was Sally Ride’s first flight

After retirement, Tom and Angie spent years in the mountains of western North Carolina where they had many pets, enjoyed time on Lake Hiwassee, and planted lots of fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers. Tom enjoyed exploring the mountains on his 4-wheeler. They then moved to the east coast of North Carolina where they became active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Tom was the Flotilla Commander for Flotilla 20-04 in New Bern, North Carolina and then transferred to Flotilla 15-1 in Crystal River, Florida.

Tom loved boats, woodworking, fixing things, Klondike bars, cookies, the History and Discovery channels, but the love of his life was airplanes. After a career fixing planes and flying throughout the world, he used his skills to build many model planes which adorn his house and garage. Tom was also a skilled skier and served as ski patrol in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada. As a father, Tom was an enthusiastic band parent to his daughter, Karen. He was active in the annual Christmas tree sale fundraiser and took charge of transporting instruments on trucks and planes for the marching band. All of his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews knew about his “secret” drawer of goodies in the fridge which featured chocolate and cookies. All dogs, babies, and children recognized a kindred spirit in Tom which will never be forgotten.

He is survived by his wife, Angie; daughter, Karen Wright Brudenell (Mark); grandchildren, Nicholas Ericson (Rainy), Christopher Ericson (Jenny), and Zachary Ericson (Tricia). Tom has five great-grandchildren, Ivy and Shade Ericson, Margaret and Julia Ericson, and John Lantigne. He also has a niece and a nephew in Tallahassee and several nieces and nephews in Canada who affectionately called him Uncle Tommy. He is preceded in death by his siblings: John Lingard, Derek Wright, and Margaret Jeffery.