Raney Walter Wright

He was born November 11, 1945 to William and Florence Wright in Ealing, England. Budd and his mother immigrated to America when he was 6 months old. His father, US Army Sergeant, would join his wife and son in North Carolina in the summer of 1946, and later the family relocated to the Seattle area where Florence’s sister, Ellen, lived. Budd attended local schools before traveling with the family back to Fayetteville, North Carolina where he graduated from Fayetteville High School.

Budd joined the US Navy in 1964. He was deployed three times to Vietnam. While serving, he received several medals to include National Defense, Armed forces Expedition, UN Campaign, UN Service, and US Coast Guard Expert Rifle and Service. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1968. Additionally, Budd served eight years in the Coast Guard Reserve and achieved the rank of EM3

He attended Central Washington State College in Ellensburg, WA and graduated in 1972. After searching for employment, he eventually got a position with Verne Kelling Appraisal firm. In April of 1975, he relocated to Ketchikan, Alaska to work as an appraiser for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough (KGB) and then later established his business Wright Appraisal Co.

Budd met Judy at the KGB and they were married February 7, 1976. Budd instantly became a “Bonus” Dad to Judy’s daughters Kimberley (Kim) and Rebecca (Becky). Once the girls had left home, Judy & Budd moved to Seattle in 1989. Budd went to work for King County Assessing Department.

Budd transferred his VFW membership from Alaska to Skyway Post #9430 where he was Commander from 1993-1994, followed by serving as Adjutant and Service Officer for a number of years. Budd also joined the Disabled American Veterans, Chapter A-One-33 in Kent. Additionally, he held the position of Chaplain for the WA State DAV Department for several different years. He was also a member of the DAV Honor Guard at Tahoma National Cemetery as well as being a volunteer for the Seattle VA.

In 1986 while in Ketchikan, Budd entered a contest to design a ships crest for the new USS Alaska submarine, an Ohio class ballistic missile submarine. To his surprise, his design was chosen. He was presented with a $1,000 check, two air tickets to New London, Connecticut to attend the commissioning of the ship and numerous memorabilia from the ship. Sadly, this ship has been scraped and made into “razor blades,” as he liked to say.

For the past 20+ years Judy and Budd have attended the USS Point Defiance reunions held throughout the U.S. The “PD” was a landing ship dock and transported Marines to different points in Vietnam. These reunions were very special to Budd re-establishing lifelong friendships from his navy time. Budd organized a reunion here in Seattle which was fun showing off the Northwest and visiting the Point Defiance area, the namesake of one of his ships.

Budd retired in 2007 after a diagnosis of prostate cancer, which he refused to let slow him down.

Budd and Judy split their retirement years between Seattle and Sun City AZ. Budd joined a writer’s group after finishing a memoir “A Frog’s Tale” of his early life growing up in Alaska before statehood.

Budd is survived by his wife of 48 years, Judy. His Bonus children Kimberley (Kim) Anne Greenough (Steve) of Anchorage, Rebecca (Becky) Ames Moody (Jim) of Ketchikan, granddaughters Taylor Moody, Crystal Greenough and Hannah Moody, and brother Richard (Cindy) of Sun City, AZ.

He was preceded in death by William and Florence Wright, a brother, John.

Raney (Budd) Wright will receive military honors with a fifteen-minute service at Tahoma National Cemetery, address 18600 SE 240th St, Kent, WA 98042, Tuesday, September 3, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Skyway VFW, 7421 S 126th, Seattle, WA, 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. with a luncheon to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Skyway Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), P.O. Box 78231, Seattle, WA 98178, and/or the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), A-One-33, P.O. Box 6156, Kent, WA 98064.