Edward passed peacefully on April 13, 2021, with his children at his bedside.
Edward Wright was born in Freeport, NY on May 25, 1945 as
Phillip Claude Wright. His father, Winfred Bergen Wright, was an engineer, and his
mother, Eunice Eddy Wright, later became a schoolteacher. He was the first born
of five children.
Edward moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1966, where he
briefly attended the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in physics. Always
a free spirit, he instead married Debra Rae Winters (they divorced in 1971),
started a family, and changed his name to Edward. Knowing that he lived in
Berkeley in the 1960s, his daughter once asked if he was a “hippie”;
his response that “I don't like titles” exemplified his individualism and rejection
of blind adherence to external expectations. He was a deep thinker with strong
convictions; he was a lifelong learner; and he was a firm believer in nonviolence
and peaceful solutions to conflict.
He stayed in the Bay Area, at one point running a dye and
batik material company, until 1979, when he moved to Hollywood to pursue a
career in acting. He enjoyed the creative energy of the acting community,
performed in local theater, was an adept pantomime and juggler, and performed
as an extra (for example, in The Green Mile). A musician, he played piano and
guitar. In the 1980s-90s, he was an early adopter of the personal computer and
the Internet, sharing his expertise and enthusiasm with his son and, later, with
his youngest grandson. At one point during the early days of the Internet, he
and his son developed a website called How2, which included “pages on various
obscure things that you might not find elsewhere on the web.” Never settling
for the status quo, he was intrigued by science and technology and tickled by
the obscure.
In 2000, after many years studying the Japanese language, Edward
moved to Tokyo, Japan. He loved the Japanese culture. He related to the tenets
of peace, harmony, respect, gentleness, and acceptance. For work in Japan, he
developed websites and taught English conversation. He especially enjoyed New
Year’s celebrations with friends and cherry blossoms in the Spring. He moved back to
the United States in 2017 to be closer to his children and grandchildren. He very
much enjoyed being closer to family. However, he deeply missed Japan and the
Japanese culture; he continued to follow Japanese news and was an ardent sumo
fan. Upon moving back to the States, he also cherished his visits with his
mother, brothers, and sister.
Edward gave many gifts to his children and grandchildren,
most notably a love of the outdoors and staying active, a love of learning, playing and listening
to music, figuring out the nuances of computers and technology, interest in science and philosophy, a dry sense of humor, and
the importance of critical thinking. For his children, these were instilled
when they lived with him in Marin County in the 1970s and in Hollywood and
North Hollywood in the 1980s. He treasured his children and grandchildren. His first grandchild was born in 1995, and he
spent many meditative hours holding her as a baby. When he moved back from
Japan, he enjoyed watching all of his grandchildren develop their own interests,
especially engaging with them through music and computers, and talking about
politics, world news, and core values (usually with a cup of coffee in hand).
He is preceded in death by his mother, Eunice Eddy Wright
Ulrich, and father, Winfred Bergen Wright. He is survived by his siblings: Rick Wright
(Anne), Dave Wright (Karen), Sue Giles (John), and Bob Wright (Sandy). He is survived by his children, Vita Wright (Chuck Cameron) and Mason Wright
(Sherrie); grandchildren Alyssa Wright, Jackson Wright, and Skyler Cameron; and
step grandson Daniel Cameron. And he is survived by friends around the globe who are also creative, smart, reflective, kind, and who enjoyed laughing with him.
A family celebration of life will be held at a later date.
