Katherine R Wright

Katherine R. (Kate, Kathy) Wright passed away peacefully at her home in Paonia, Colorado with her husband Don and son Willie at her side on the evening of June 15, 2015 after a brief bout with pancreatic cancer. She was 75 years old.

Katherine Wisniewski was born on August 8, 1939 to Stanley and Stella Wisniewski in Erie, Pennsylvania. Kate grew up in Erie, spending countless hours on the lake fishing with her father. She graduated high school in 1957 from St. Benedict Academy, an all-girls Catholic school.

While working on her undergraduate degree at Villa Maria College in Erie, Kate started her teaching career as a 5th grade instructor at Sacred Heart Elementary School in the fall of 1957. She earned her Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Villa Maria in 1961. Kate continued her education and in 1964 completed her master's degree from Edinboro College in Edinboro, PA. In the meantime she was a full-time second grade teacher at Lincoln School in Edgewood, Ohio from 1961 through 1965.

Showing an adventurous spirit that would exhibit itself throughout her entire life, Katherine joined the U.S. Navy the following school year and became a commissioned officer in February of 1966. She was stationed at Point Mugu Naval Air Station, California and served as the Assistant Administrative Officer to the Commander of the Pacific Missile Range.

While at NAS Point Mugu, Kate met a dashing young Naval Flight Officer named Donald Wright, a lieutenant in a squadron of Phantom F-4 fighter jets at Air Development Squadron 4 . They were married on July 29, 1967 at Church of the Holy Family in Erie, Pennsylvania.

After serving in the Navy the Wrights began their civilian life in 1970, moving to Riverton, Wyoming where Don was employed as a mining engineer at Lucky Mc uranium mine and Kate became a home-maker.

In 1978 Kate resumed her teaching career as 5th grade teacher at St. Margaret's Elementary School in Riverton. She would teach 4th and 5th grade there until the end of the 1991 school year. After a brief hiatus she finished her teaching career at Jeffrey City Schools in 1996-97, and as a Title I Reading Recovery Teacher in Riverton, finally retiring in the spring of 2002. Kate was an outstanding and very well-organized, structured, and respected teacher. Her students liked her and would often come back to say hello and tell her how much they enjoyed her classes.

Katherine Wright led an extremely full and vibrant life. In addition to having a long career as an elementary school teacher and raising two sons, she pursued a wide variety of interests. She was a voluminous reader, devouring everything from classic literature to Tom Clancy novels. Her non-fiction library included books about history, philosophy, and politics. Dinner-table conversations with her were always enlightening and educational, along with being grammatically correct and vocabulary-enhancing. She often held her family's interest and kept lively discussions going long after the meal was finished.

Being married to an avid outdoorsman, Kate became an avid outdoorswoman herself. Summer weekends were spent hiking, camping and fishing high in the Wind River Mountain range in Wyoming. For over 30 years she accompanied her husband and later joined him in fall hunts, harvesting many antelope, deer, and elk. An excellent shot with her trusty 270-caliber rifle she reached what may have been the pinnacle of her hunting excursions in the mid-90's when she drew a moose tag and bagged a healthy, young bull.

Kate enjoyed other quieter hobbies, especially in the long Wyoming and Colorado winters. Many of the needlepoint pictures she created were framed and hung on the walls of her home. She was also a skilled seamstress and knitted, crocheted and quilted many projects.

In 2004, Kate and Don Wright moved to Paonia, Colorado to be with their son, daughter-in-law, and new grandson, Trey. Kate and her husband spent many wonderful days helping to raise and care for Trey as his parents worked at their teaching jobs in Delta County, CO.

Katherine is survived by her husband of nearly 48 years, Donald F Wright Sr. of Paonia, CO, two sons, Michael C. Wright of Riverton, WY, and Donald F (Willie) Wright Jr. of Worland, WY, two brothers, Francis (Shorty) Wisniewski, and Ray Wisniewski, both of Erie, PA, and one sister, Christina Rudolph of Dover, PA, and two grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, Stanley and Stella Wisniewski, two brothers, Bob and Matt Wisniewski, and one sister, Ann Mackowski.

A memorial service will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Paonia, Colorado at 10 a.m. Friday, June 19th and at St Margaret's Catholic Church in Riverton at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 25th.

In Lieu of flowers the Wright family would respectfully request that donations would be made to Hope West Hospice, Delta, CO or a charity of your choice.