Johnnie Lee Wright

He is survived by children, Cheryl Wright Dood (Bob), Carol Wright Burger (Frank), Mark Wright (Ashley), grandchildren Paula Michelle Bell (Terry), Crystal Carol Burger (Jonathan), Ethan Wright, Eliott Wright, Gabriel Wright.

Johnnie volunteered for several years with the Shelby County Sheriff's Dept. and was a school crossing guard at several Shelby county Schools after his retirement. He was an energetic, loving, compassionate man loved his family, his church, playing softball, bowling, round and square dancing with his wife, Shirley. As a family, we went camping in the summer mostly in the Smokies. Summer vacations took us all across the US. He and mother (Shirley) were very active with extended family and with their children's church lives - going with them on youth trips and attending activities with them throughout their lives. He was the type of father that everyone dreams of having and we were blessed by God to have had the privilege of being born into this precious man's life/family.

Not quite sure what else to say. Our hearts are broken through the loss of this wonderful man. We will miss him every day but know that he is in heaven with our dear mother and our Lord and God.

There is a word in the Hebrew Bible that has no single english equivalent. The word is “Hesed.” “Hesed” is a rich, remarkable word. For his children, there is no other word that captures our father’s character -who is was and what he did. “Hesed” is a word that, in its breadth of meaning, always describes a relationship. Some of the ways it is translated are: faithfulness, goodness, strength, kindness, love, loyalty, and devotion. Many times we see it as “steadfast love,” and “loving kindness.” That is how we have experienced our father, in all of these ways. We could always count on him. We always knew how much we were loved. We always knew that he was proud of us, and we hope he knew how proud we are of him. He taught us the kind of person to be in the world; that successes were good, but there are things much more important in life. It is those things that we will strive for as his beloved children.

Biblical “hesed” is always enduring and never fails us, just like our dad.

For us, our father was “hesed.” He didn’t just do all those things in the list; he was all those things. We could not have asked for a better father, or a more loving one. We will miss him intensely. There will always be an ache in our hearts, but we will always be thankful for the gifts he shared and the gift he was.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 30 from 12:15pm to 1:15pm at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38119. *PLEASE WEAR A MASK PER THE FAMILIES REQUEST*.

The graveside service for Johnnie will be held Wednesday, September 30 at 1:30 PM at Memorial Park Cemetery, 5568 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38119.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers that donations can be made in Johnnie's name or his wife's name, Shirley to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.