Margaret Mary Wright

Former Bainbridge resident Margaret Mary Wright, age 91, of Friday Harbor, died Aug. 6.

She was born Aug. 11, 1912, in Mableton, Wash., to George William Ley and Mary Jane (Wamsley) Ley. She grew up in the Yakima Valley region with her sisters, Mildred and Ruth, attending grade school and high school in Wapato. She also attended Washington State College for one year, and was briefly a pledge of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

She worked at Yakima First National Bank after graduating from high school, and on the eve of her departure for college was honored at a dinner bridge party which featured a surprise hanky shower. Due to the constraints of the Depression era, she was only able to attend one year.

After her marriage on Jan. 21, 1934, to Richard William Wright of Wapato, the couple lived in Yakima and Seattle. They moved to the Wing Point neighborhood of Bainbridge Island in 1944, during which time she raised three children. They moved to Silverdale in 1957.

They also lived in Vienna, Va., and Bremerton. During World War II she worked briefly at the Winslow Shipyard and the local bank. She also worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Seattle for three years.

A gifted amateur musician all her life, Margaret began playing the piano in high school and performed at many dances and parties.

She lifted many hearts with her musical inspiration, playing piano and organ, singing and writing arrangements for the Sweet Adelines in Vienna Falls, Va., and in Bremerton with the Kitsap Pines Sweet Adelines.

She and her husband enjoyed traveling after retirement, driving across Canada and across the southern states, visiting Florida, the Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal.

In later years they spent winters in Florence, Arizona. Their last home was in Allyn, Washington, on the Lakeland Village Golf Course.

She had a gift for making holidays, birthdays, and other events special for her family. She welcomed relatives and friends with hospitality, whether it was dinner dances, pinochle games, amateur performances, digging clams on the beach or playing golf.

She wrote many letters throughout the years, and sent and received hundreds of greeting cards, keeping in touch with old friends from childhood days.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth Howard, of Yakima; children Nancy Lindenberg, of Friday Harbor, James B. Wright, of Preston, Conn.; and Richard L. Wright, of Las Vegas, Nevada; four cousins in the Yakima area; three nieces and two nephews; as well as 12 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

A private service was held Aug. 21 at Haven of Rest Cemetery in Gig Harbor, with arrangements by Evans Funeral Chapel, Anacortes. Memorials can be made to the Salvation Army or any local school music programs.