Edwin Charles Wright
June 14, 1928 ~ October 6, 2017
Edwin Charles Wright, a resident of Atherton for 53 years, passed away peacefully on October 6 at the age of 89. Ed was born with his twin brother Roger in DeKalb, Illinois on June 14, 1928 -- Flag Day. He said that he and his twin were 10 years old before they realized that all the flags in town were not put up to celebrate their birthday. Ed was predeceased by Roger and his older brother, Robert.
Ed grew up in the farming town of Belvidere, Illinois, and was the son of Herman and Hannah (Nan) Wright. He graduated from Belvidere High School where he was editor of the school paper, running back on the football team, guard on the basketball team and Captain and top player on the golf team. The summer before his senior year of high school he attended the Northwestern University Journalism Institute and was honored as the outstanding male student by the faculty.
In 1946, Ed travelled West with his twin brother in their De Soto convertible to attend Stanford University, where he graduated in 1950 with a degree in Political Science. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and Rally Com, and contributed to the Chaparral magazine. As a Stanford alumnus he chaired or co-chaired his class reunion off and on for over 50 years. Stanford Associates presented him with an Outstanding Achievement award in 2000.
In 1950 Ed married Barbara Jean Gates and returned to Belvidere, where he became the Personnel Manager for the Green Giant Company cannery. In 1952 he was the Boone County, Illinois chairman of the Dwight Eisenhower presidential campaign. In 1953 Ed and Barbara returned to California, where Ed worked as Personnel Manager for the Libby Foods west coast headquarters in San Francisco. In 1957 Ed went into the life and health insurance business, specializing in estate planning and employee benefits. He became a Certified Life Underwriter and a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Roundtable. He served on the board of directors for both the CLU association and the Life Underwriters association. In 1999 he was named Professional of the Year by the 400-member Life Association.
Ed was also active in the community. He was president of the Atherton Little League in 1968-69. He was a member of the Peninsula Kiwanis Club for 44 years, serving as President in 1982. In the 1970s he was on the Board of the Peninsula Big Brothers. Ed was a competitive golfer and a longtime member of the Stanford Golf Club. In later years he enjoyed golfing with the Sirs retirement group. Ed and his wife Barbara enjoyed many trips together especially to Hawaii and Palm Desert. They also traveled often to Mexico and Europe. Ed had a big appetite for baseball and had been a loyal Chicago Cubs fan since age 5. He was also a fan of the San Francisco Giants and the Stanford Cardinal in all sports.
Ed had a wonderful sense of humor and loved telling jokes and stories about his life experiences. His stories got enhanced as the years passed. He always had a very sociable character, and made friends easily.
Family always played a key role in Ed’s life. Blessed with a calm and reassuring character and a strong work ethic inherited from his parents, Ed always endeavored to provide financial and emotional support to his wife, children and grandchildren, and to set a good example to both family and friends.
Ed is survived by his wife, Barbara after 67 years of a very happy marriage. He will be missed by his sons John, Chuck, Dan and Jim and by daughters-in-law Ruth, Lisa and Michele. He was a loving grandfather to Adam, Peter, Thomas, Sam, Scott, Steven, David, Joshua, Lindsay and Ashley.