Wanda Howell Wright

Wanda Howell Wright came into this world May 3, 1927. God called her home April 11, 2025 at 97 years young…she almost made it to 98! She was born to Bill and Covie Howell in the West Virginia hamlet of Rock, which Wikipedia says “the community most likely took its name from a large rock formation near the original town site.”

The oldest child, Wanda set a wonderful example for her siblings: Genevieve (Gene), Doris (Dottie, or Darse…this was Wanda’s pronunciation of Doris), Ruth, Danny, and Buck. This example may have included lying about her age in order to work for the FBI during WWII. More importantly, at age 20, she accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. This decision would go on to impact multiple generations of her family.

Wanda loved the Lord and read her Bible daily. She loved to travel, often taking her sister Doris with her, and had the benefit of crossing both ponds for trips. She had a generous spirit. She loved her family dearly even though she may have called you by two or three names before getting your name right. In her final days she called everyone by name and was a sharp as a tack.

She moved to Houston in her mid-20’s with her first husband, Darrol Rierson. For over thirty years she worked for Dr. Lowe (first Senior, later Junior), before embarking on a new adventure when she married Cliff Wright in late 1989. At that point she retired…for a little over a year…and then worked side-by-side with Cliff in his business until God called him home in 1994. She moved to Kingwood later that year and retired for good in 1996.

Wanda was blessed with a blended family of five children: Darlene and Darrol, Jr., Clifton, Karen, and Peggy. She was also blessed with several grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, and a growing number of great-great- grandchildren. On at least one occasion she purchased a card for a grandchild which was meant for a great-grandchild…she liked that the contained the word “great” on the front. If she had made it to her 98th birthday she might have been able to FaceTime her newest great-great-grandchild…he with an unannounced first name beginning with E is scheduled to be born the day before her birthday.

Given her age she’s outlived most of her family. She’s survived by daughters Darlene and Karen, as well as her grandchildren, the greats, and the great-greats. She spent her last 18 months living at Fountainwood in Atascocita, living independently up until about a month ago. She made wonderful friends there.

A visitation will be held at Kingwood Funeral Home Wednesday April 16th from 6:00-8:00pm. We’ll celebrate her life Thursday at Kingwood Funeral Home at 10:00am. Graveside services for the family will be held at a later time.