The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Premier Lorain bagpiper dies at 99
A Scottish man who set anchor in Lorain and brought a prolific impact to bagpiping in Northeast Ohio, has died.
Allister Wright, founder and former pipe major of Lochaber Pipe Band, passed away Jan. 27. He was 99.
Wright left behind a legacy of premier bagpiping.
“His entire life was devoted to his heritage and his family,” said Wright’s oldest son Colin Wright Sr.
Those two passions often collided, as Colin Wright reminisced about his father teaching him and his three other brothers to play the pipes as well.
Colin Wright said his father was proud to be active and independent up until he was admitted to the hospital about a week before his death.
A man of factual accuracy and wisdom, Colin Wright said he and his brothers were lucky their father regularly imparted his knowledge to them.
“He was a very astute person,” his son said. “He was about doing things the right way; he was pretty old-school and he impacted a lot on the people he met.”
Donald Wright, another son of Allister Wright, said his father was a unique man.
“He was stern, but man of perfect integrity, and demanded
respect from everyone,” Donald Wright said. “Not in the traditional commanding way, but in his demeanor.”
Wright’s impact
Born in 1921, Allister Wright would have been 100 in June.
He first visited Lorain in 1947, and officially moved to the city in 1951.
Allister Wright played with the Cleveland Kiltie Band for more than 25 years, and later founded the Lochaber band in 1966.
The band started with four pipers and a drummer, and met in Royal Canadian Legion Post 54 in Lorain.
Since then, the band has moved to the Amherst Eagles at 1161 Milan Ave. and participates in a variety of area parades and festivals.
Even back in 2019, Allister Wright was participating in those events for the band.
Colin Wright said his father was integral in parades for events like the annual Lorain International Festival and Vermilion’s Festival of the Fish and Woolley Bear.
Through his involvement, Colin Wright said his father became good friends with the late television broadcaster Dick Goddard, who headed Woolley Bear, as well as bishops in Cleveland that he played for during their service and a handful of Cleveland mayors.
The elder Wright also received many accolades for his bagpiping, including getting inducted into the Scottish Heritage Association’s Hall of Fame in 2003 and his band getting inducted in 2017.
He remains the only person inducted twice in the organization’s history.
The family’s future
With Allister Wright as pipe major and leader of his band for 55 years, Colin Wright said his replacement may remain in the family.
“Right now, we haven’t had time to discuss that as a band,” he said. “We would do something to honor his wishes.”
Colin Wright said that may involve either him or one of his brothers helping out and taking the lead with the band.
“It’ll be a seamless transition, I’m sure,” he said. “As far as living up to him, we’d give it our best shot.”
The homegoing
Wright’s showing is from 4 to 8 p.m., Jan. 31, at Boyer & Cool Home For Funerals, 1124 W. Fifth St. in Lorain.
The funeral will take place at 11 p.m., Feb. 1, at Heritage Presbyterian Church, 515 N. Leavitt Road in Amherst.