CHESTER, Vt. – Edward Joseph Wright Jr. of Chester, Vt., passed away peacefully and on his own terms, surrounded by his loving family, on March 14, 2024, after a slow decline from pulmonary fibrosis. He was born on July 23, 1940, to Edward J. Wright Sr. and Lauretta (Picard) Wright.
Eddy, or “Junior” as he was called, grew up working on the family dairy farm from a very young age. He graduated from Chester High School and attended UVM briefly. A master of many trades, he taught carpentry, electrical, and plumbing, as well as taking care of maintenance, groundskeeping, and anything that needed doing at East Hill School in Andover, Vt. He managed the shipping department at The National Survey in Chester, and worked at Belknap’s Mill Hill Lumber in Cavendish, as well as Smokeshire Woodworks/Great Brook Furniture/Kiosko in Springfield.
As a conscientious objector, Ed served his country by working at the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey. This is where he met Nancy Searles. They married in 1963 and moved back to Vermont, where they had two children Tammy and Joe, then divorced in 1972. Ed met Marleen Hunsdon while both were working at the National Survey. They married in May of 1976 and had two children Jeanie and David, whom they raised in Chester, Vt.
Ed was a quiet man who didn’t venture far, but was always willing to lend a hand. He had an incredible work ethic, and everything he attempted was done with ingenuity and precision. He had a brown belt in judo, and enjoyed whittling, kayaking, and watching tennis, but what mattered most to Ed was spending time with his family – especially his grandsons, whom he adored beyond measure, never missing a sporting event or opportunity to pass along tidbits of knowledge.
Ed is survived by his wife of 48 years Marleen (Hunsdon) Wright of Chester, Vt.; and his four children Tammy J. Wright and her husband Allan Green Jr. of Andover Vt., Joseph E. Wright and his wife Mary Moeykens of Perkinsville, Vt., Jeanie L. Wright and her son Damion of Chester, Vt., and David E. Wright, his wife Christina (Brown) Wright, and their two sons Cole and Sam of Springfield, Vt.
A private Celebration of Life will be held in July.