Spencer V. Wright
LEICESTER - Spencer Wright died Tuesday, May 14, 2019, at the Leicester farm of his daughter Lesley Wright and her husband Jim Ellefson. He was 95. Born in Worcester, Mass., on July 13, 1923, to Ruth (Ashworth) and Stanley Wright, from Addison County, Vt., he was the elder brother of Charles and Daniel. He graduated from Kimball Union Academy and Middlebury College, where he was an avid member of DKE fraternity, and played on the football team. He was one of many family members who attended the college.
He married Nancy Means, a teacher and writer, in 1950, and they raised four children, while both working at Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., and renovating an old house in Cornwall, Vt. At Proctor he taught economics and history; in his last few years he still read history and watched historical films long past midnight. He served as athletic director and coached varsity football and hockey. Both sons played hockey at Proctor. He called all of his players by their surnames, including his son Gary whom he addressed as "Wright." He was inducted into Proctor's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
Equally adept in the classroom, he is remembered by Curt Peterson, class of 1962, as "one of the best teachers from whom I'd ever had the honor of learning life lessons." After twenty years at Proctor, in the early 1970's, the family moved full-time to their Cornwall home. They operated Cornwall Crafts, and Spencer worked as a realtor for Murdochs of Middlebury. He then built a home on Cider Mill Road. He enjoyed carpentry, and created a house using beams and barn-boards from dilapidated barns, along with old sinks, tubs and doors that he scavenged from other sources. He started a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm on the land. One of his daughters overheard him saying to a telemarketer, "Listen, I'm eighty-eight-years-old, I have an eighteen-year-old cat and a sixty-year-old-tractor. Do you really think I'm going to buy something from you?" He loved his family. And his seven grandchildren brought great joy to him in later years. He taught them to play Bridge, an old card game unfamiliar to most young people. "Grandpa" and his grandkids played at the extended family's Lake Dunmore cottage, on a dimly-lit card table, during summer evenings. Spencer's outlook on life was bright, like his red hair. He celebrated every day by eating several dishes of ice cream. He admired Red Skelton, Winston Churchill and explorer Ernest Shackleton. He liked going to England, where he began each day by watching the Changing of the Guard. His random naps were legendary. So, too, was his rapport with all kinds of people: young and old, rich and poor, shy and outgoing. He often asked them to "sit down and tell me a story." Then he'd tell a few himself. He stayed in touch with all of his old friends and kept making new ones, even as his generation passed. His epitaph might well read, "He had a lot of friends."
He is survived by his four children: Gary Wright of Cornwall, Vt., and girlfriend Cindy Bolger; Lesley Wright and husband Jim Ellefson of Leicester, Vt.; Donald Wright and partner Denise Viscomi of Burlington, Vt.; and Catharine Wright and partner Karen Grimm of Middlebury, Vt. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Zoe Wright-Neil, Spencer Wright, Alexander Wright, Zelie Wright-Neil, Rosalie Wright-Lapin, Connor Wright, Forrest Wright-Lapin, and step-grandson Austin Grimm. Other survivors include his former wife Nancy Wright, and the nieces, nephews and cousins with whom he always stayed in touch. The family would like to thank Addison County Home Health and Hospice, as well as Joanie Roberge, his friend and caregiver. A memorial service for Spencer will be held this summer, and will be announced at a later date.
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He married Nancy Means, a teacher and writer, in 1950, and they raised four children, while both working at Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., and renovating an old house in Cornwall, Vt. At Proctor he taught economics and history; in his last few years he still read history and watched historical films long past midnight. He served as athletic director and coached varsity football and hockey. Both sons played hockey at Proctor. He called all of his players by their surnames, including his son Gary whom he addressed as "Wright." He was inducted into Proctor's inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
Equally adept in the classroom, he is remembered by Curt Peterson, class of 1962, as "one of the best teachers from whom I'd ever had the honor of learning life lessons." After twenty years at Proctor, in the early 1970's, the family moved full-time to their Cornwall home. They operated Cornwall Crafts, and Spencer worked as a realtor for Murdochs of Middlebury. He then built a home on Cider Mill Road. He enjoyed carpentry, and created a house using beams and barn-boards from dilapidated barns, along with old sinks, tubs and doors that he scavenged from other sources. He started a cut-your-own Christmas tree farm on the land. One of his daughters overheard him saying to a telemarketer, "Listen, I'm eighty-eight-years-old, I have an eighteen-year-old cat and a sixty-year-old-tractor. Do you really think I'm going to buy something from you?" He loved his family. And his seven grandchildren brought great joy to him in later years. He taught them to play Bridge, an old card game unfamiliar to most young people. "Grandpa" and his grandkids played at the extended family's Lake Dunmore cottage, on a dimly-lit card table, during summer evenings. Spencer's outlook on life was bright, like his red hair. He celebrated every day by eating several dishes of ice cream. He admired Red Skelton, Winston Churchill and explorer Ernest Shackleton. He liked going to England, where he began each day by watching the Changing of the Guard. His random naps were legendary. So, too, was his rapport with all kinds of people: young and old, rich and poor, shy and outgoing. He often asked them to "sit down and tell me a story." Then he'd tell a few himself. He stayed in touch with all of his old friends and kept making new ones, even as his generation passed. His epitaph might well read, "He had a lot of friends."
He is survived by his four children: Gary Wright of Cornwall, Vt., and girlfriend Cindy Bolger; Lesley Wright and husband Jim Ellefson of Leicester, Vt.; Donald Wright and partner Denise Viscomi of Burlington, Vt.; and Catharine Wright and partner Karen Grimm of Middlebury, Vt. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Zoe Wright-Neil, Spencer Wright, Alexander Wright, Zelie Wright-Neil, Rosalie Wright-Lapin, Connor Wright, Forrest Wright-Lapin, and step-grandson Austin Grimm. Other survivors include his former wife Nancy Wright, and the nieces, nephews and cousins with whom he always stayed in touch. The family would like to thank Addison County Home Health and Hospice, as well as Joanie Roberge, his friend and caregiver. A memorial service for Spencer will be held this summer, and will be announced at a later date.
