Julian Wright, Sr.

Julian Maynard Wright, Sr. of Sun City, Arizona, left this earth at the age of 103 in the early morning of May 16th, 2016; however, he will remain forever in the hearts and minds of every single person who knew him. He spent his entire life looking outside himself to those who needed him most – his family, his friends, and even strangers who didn’t even know his name, but needed his love and care. He was “one of a kind.” Julian was known for his kindness, keen sense of humor, love of friends and family, and his extraordinary intellect. He had a brilliant mind and never stopped learning. You could depend on him to know the current best sellers. His love of language and puns gave him just what he needed to create exceedingly clever cards that he signed as “the Wright card for you.” These cards brought smiles and laughter to all who had the pleasure of receiving one. They were the talk of the family. No one ever threw one away. One particularly clever card that he sent to one of his sons read “Holy Cow! It’s your birthday! Hope your 68th birthday is a moomentous occasion with all your moovable parts moooving to cowmemorate this periodic brush with Father Time.” Julian, the son of Berlin Hart Wright and Mildred Blanche Haynes, was born on January 23, 1913, in Cornwall on the Hudson, New York, and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Cornell University. After teaching and working in a variety of agricultural programs in New York State, he joined Beacon Milling Company, a livestock feed manufacturer in Cayuga, New York, and lived in Auburn before moving to Rochester, New York, to serve as a 4H agent for Monroe County. He received numerous awards for his outstanding horse, cattle and poultry projects, and his 5-star horse program, incubation and embryology projects were models for the state. In 1973 the National Association of 4H Agents recognized his significant achievements with a distinguished service award. Throughout his professional career, he was active in volunteering and social services such as Rotary, Kiwanis, and Boy Scouts. He was honored by Boy Scouts of America with the St. George Award for his significant contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youth in Scouting. In July 1975, Julian retired with his wife, Ruth, and moved to Del Webb’s retirement community in Sun City, AZ to begin 41 years of traveling, cruises, golf, volunteering at Boswell Hospital, college classes, summers in Utah, family genealogy research, visits with his beloved sons and grandchildren, and serving as the “go to” guy for people who needed help with their computers. He volunteered over 6000 hours to the Sun Health Auxiliary and was enrolled in the Banner Hospital’s Longevity Project. Survivors include his wife of 7 years, Helen Deines Wright, his sons, Julian, Jr. “Skip”, and Paul; their wives, Anne and Marilyn, four grandsons, three granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren. Ruth Blake Wright, the mother of his children, preceded him in death in June 2001. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, 2016 at St. Elizabeth Seton Church, 9728 W. Palmeras Dr., Sun City, AZ.