Aug. 2, 1949 < Dec. 23, 2008
Susan P. Wright passed away peacefully on Dec. 23, 2008, after a seven-year struggle with Alzheimer's.
Sue was born in Portsmouth, N.H., to Lt. Col. and Mrs. William R. Powers Jr. She spent her youth traveling the world with her family as her father served in England, Germany and at several stateside Air Force bases.
She graduated from Hap Arnold High School in Wiesbaden, Germany, and went on to Plymouth State College, N.H., to pursue a degree in education. After graduation from Plymouth State, she taught in New Hampshire and then joined the Department of Defense School System.
She taught elementary school at Yongsan, Seoul, South Korea and Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.
While teaching at Clark, she was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at some friends' house in 1976. Also attending that dinner was an Air Force officer, Kendall Wright, who happened to be there while flying a C-141 mission to Vietnam from Travis Air Force Base.
They took an instant liking to each other, and their romance grew over the next few months as Ken did everything in his power to secure missions to Clark. They were married in Portsmouth, N.H., in August 1977 after Sue's return to the United States.
In November 1978, she gave birth to their daughter, Karelin. Three months later, the family was off to Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii for a three-year tour. They returned to Travis in 1982 and made Solano County their home.
After taking three years off to care for her daughter in her early years, Sue was employed by Travis Credit Union and Macy's Fairfield. She returned to teaching after her daughter's graduation from Fairfield High School, first with a class at Suisun Elementary and then as a substitute for many years.
In her spare time, she loved to work with her hands. She was expert at cross-stitch and also left her family with a lovely hand-made afghan and hooked rug wall hangings. She and Ken loved their mini-vacations to Lake Tahoe and Monterey.
Sue was deeply involved in her daughter's school activities, especially with the Fairfield High Scarlet Brigade Band. She served as a Pageantry Unit Member Mom for three years and as president of the Scarlet Brigade Booster Club from 1995 to 1998.
Her efforts as a teacher and with the Scarlet Brigade touched the lives of a generation of Fairfield's children.
Sue is survived by her husband, Kendall J. Wright of Fairfield; daughter Karelin and her husband Jeffrey Gray of Orangevale; parents Lt. Col. (ret.) and Mrs. William R. Powers Jr. of Portsmouth, N.H.; and brother William R. Powers III and wife Dorothy of Portsmouth, N.H.
Sue will be interred at the Sacramento Valley VA National Cemetery in Dixon, where she will await her loving husband. Her memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan, 10, 2009 at Bryan-Braker Funeral Home in Fairfield, with a celebratory reception to follow at Hilton Garden Inn, 2200 Gateway Court in Fairfield.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, friends and family make donations to the Alzheimer's Association.