Willie Wright Jr.

Willie Wright Jr. was born August 3, 1926 in Madison, Florida to his parents Ethel and Willie Wright Sr. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1945 when he was 17 years old. At that ·time the Army units were segregated: blacks and whites did not serve in the same units. When the Air Force officially became a separate military unit, that practice changed and opportunities for job advancement in the military became available for Willie and other people of color. ·

His first assignment after enlistment was Sheppard Field, Texas. After basic training he was reassigned to Ft. Devins, Massachusetts where he served for 8 months. In, 1946 he was assigned to Lowry AFB, Denver, Colorado and there he met and married his wife, Gloria Jean Franklin on October 22, 1947. In 1951. the happy couple was transferred to Hickam AFB, Honolulu Hawaii for four years. There Willie cross-trained in club management and acquired his culinary skills. He served from 1954 to 1959 at Westover AFB, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Afterwards he had another assignment at Ramey AFB, Puerto Rico for four years. He was then reassigned to Grisson AFB in Indiana for approximately one and a half years. From there Willie was assigned to Karamursel AFB, Turkey from 1965 to 1967. Another assignment sent him and his family to Shu Linkou AFB, Taipei, Taiwan from 1967 until the spring of 1970. His final assignment was at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas, Nevada 􀁦here he retired in 1971 as a Mast􀁧r Sergeant after proudly serving 26 ½ years in the military.

Willie died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, July 28, 2019 at his home in Las Vegas.

He is survived, cherished and celebrated by his wife Gloria Jean 􀁭md four daughters: Erma resides in Paris, France (with her husband Serge Manoncourt), Linda resides in Las Vegas, C.heryl resides in Henderson, and Michelle resides (with her husband Don Davenport Sr.) in Oceanside, California. All four daughters credit their Dad with helping them experfence different cultures of the world which helped .shape their lives . He lived to enjoy four grandchildren: Amber Welby, Don Davenport Jr., Anthony Graham, and Danielle (including her husband Chad Rea). The delight and joys of his life were also his great grandchildren: Hunter Welby, Axson and Charlotte Rea.

Willie was known for his love of pinochle and often quoted to his family: "I put the P in pinochle". Dominoes and Bid Whist were also games he mastered. His· daughters have fond memories of staying up until the wee hours watching their dad, mom and friends playing card games. In later years, he looked forward to going to the Centennial Hills Senior Center to see who would be his next card "victim". He loved westerns and was known to sing a few bars of country music. He is lovingly remembered by his grandkids for his signature lemonade and his culinary delight "SOS".