James Micic Bright

Dad was born on July 14, 1925 in Devils Lake, North Dakota to Oscar Bright and Bibiana Micic Bright and spent most of his childhood in San Antonio, Texas.

In San Antonio, Dad discovered one of his lifelong passions, golf, which he played incessantly, becoming a successful tournament player. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1943, Dad served as an infantryman in World War II, where he literally walked from Normandy, France to Aachen, Germany, where he was wounded, recuperated, and then returned home.

Dad studied architecture at the University of Texas from 1945 until 1949, where he was a member of the UT golf team and played daily rounds with many of the legends of that time. After graduating he practiced architecture in San Antonio with his lifelong friend O’Neil Ford before moving to Corpus Christi in 1951, where he ultimately practiced architecture for 50 years until he retired in 2000.

It was here in Corpus Christi that he met the love of his life, Ann Smiley Hughes, in 1951. They married in 1952 and over the next 62 years together they raised six children, Mitch, Brantly, Bibiana, Annie, David, and Joshua. Their children were the great joy of their lives, and Dad and Mom were wonderful role models for their children, their spouses, and their grandchildren. They taught their family compassion, humility and humbleness with dignity. They taught us to see people as equals, no matter where, who, or what they were.

In addition to his family, Dad had many passions and enthusiasms. He played golf avidly and competitively for most of his life, winning numerous tournaments, hitting multiple “holes in one,” scoring below his age, and enjoying friendships with countless fellow golfers. Dad was also an avid chess player, and he played in a number of tournaments and correspondence matches with opponents across the country. Dad had a lifelong love of, and fascination with, art and sculpture, as an artist himself, as a Board Member of the Art Museum of South Texas, and as an enthusiastic supporter of artists. A voracious reader, Dad devoured books by the dozen, reading the entire works by a given author before moving on to another and another. For years, he would have a stack of books by his bedside or chair that he was reading simultaneously. He also loved animals, and he had countless dogs and other pets throughout his life that he loved dearly.

Politics and social justice were a large part of Dad’s life. Alongside our mother, Dad fought tirelessly and selflessly for peace and justice for all humanity throughout the world. Though a war veteran, he recognized pacifism and understanding as the only rational approach to resolving conflict. He was involved in many of the struggles for racial equality and justice in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s, up to the present. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Dad was involved in the movement for fair housing – racially open housing – here in Corpus Christi. That movement ultimately led to the passage of open housing laws in Corpus Christi, laws against housing discrimination, and the formation of the city’s Human Relations Commission. In the late 1960’s, despite the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, Corpus Christi still had segregated – and unequal – schools. Dad worked to de-segregate Corpus Christi public schools, and that movement culminated in the successful Federal Court case of Cisneros v. CCISD. It was through his work to de-segregate Corpus Christi schools that Dad became a member of the NAACP. At a time when our chapter of the NAACP had few if any white members, Dad served as the Treasurer of the organization for several years. In 1970 Dad was instrumental in forming the Holy Cross Credit Union, which at its time was one of the rare avenues for many local people of color to access capital to form businesses, buy homes, and educate their children. Over the following decades, countless lives were improved through the work of the Holy Cross Credit Union. Dad counted that among his proudest achievements. He was awarded the NAACP Boyd Hall Chapter’s Spark Award and later the NAACP President’s Award in recognition of his efforts in the struggle for civil rights here in our community.

Dad was preceded in death by his loving wife Ann, his eldest son Mitch, and his granddaughter Elena Shapiro, whom he loved and missed tremendously. He is survived by his adoring family: His daughters Brantly (David) Shapiro, Bibiana (John) Dykema, and Annie (Todd Smiley) Bright, his sons David (Regi) Bright and Joshua Bright, eight grandchildren, three great grandchildren, devoted caregivers Debra Nichols, Ofie Rodriguez, Ruby Navarro, Tara Lucky and Dorothy Collier whom we appreciate tremendously, and many, many friends.

A memorial mass will be held in the near future.