Billy Glenn Wright (“Bill”), born in Mobile in 1931 and a resident of Huntsville since 1966, died at the age of 92 on July 27, 2023. He was preceded in death by his mother Mayme Wright Barker, his father, William Willard Wright, his brothers Fred Wright and Harold Wright, and his grandson Chad Christopher Hasty.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Barbara Daniels Wright and three children, Brenda Jones (Greg) of Huntsville, Randy Wright (Leslie) of Birmingham, and Roger Wright (Belinda) of Huntsville. He is survived by eight grandchildren, Brittany, Daniel, Mitchell, Anne Scott, Kyle, Blakely, Trey, and Maggie and three great grandchildren, Evelyn, Harrison, and Henry.
Bill graduated from Murphy High School in Mobile in 1948, joined the U.S. Army in 1951 as part of the 224 th Infantry Regiment where he served in Japan, Korea, and Koje-Do Island. He later served in the Army’s 101 st Airborne Division in Kentucky before being discharged in 1952.
Bill met Barbara at a mutual friend’s wedding in 1956, and they were married in 1957. He then began pursuing a degree in Accounting at the University of Alabama where he graduated in July 1960, becoming the first from his family to have a college degree. After gaining his degree, he worked in Pensacola, Mobile, Picayune, and Huntsville, eventually retiring from his job at the U.S. Army Defense Missile Command in 1989.
Bill and family settled into a home in Huntsville in 1969, where he lived for 50 years. Bill’s hobbies when he was younger were playing fast pitch softball (he was a highly desired pitcher and played on several winning teams) and then later coaching little league baseball and softball when his children became of age. During his time after retirement, he kept busy helping with grandchildren, writing wonderful and interesting stories about his life, going to the gym, golfing, and attending his grandchildren’s various activities and sporting events.
In 2019, Bill and Barbara moved into an assisted living facility, Regency Retirement Village, due to increasing physical health. He was known for keeping things interesting at Regency by joking around with fellow residents and workers and talking about his grandchildren.
His legacy, however, was being known to his family as a kind man, accepting, loving, sound advice giver, and overall wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and father-in-law.
Visitation will be at Berryhill Funeral home on Monday, July 31, 2023, from 3:00-4:00 with service at 4:00. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Greater Huntsville Humane Society.
