John M. Wright

John M. Wright, 85, entered the presence of the Lord at 10:35 on the morning of Thursday, April 28, 2016. He was surrounded at the time by his loving family. John loved his Lord, his family, his friends and his work. He did not believe in “good” when “better” was attainable. He was loyal to his friends and family and was a pain in the rear to those with whom he disagreed. Until ill health became an issue, John served his Lord over the years through his Sunday School class and membership on various committees in the church. He was ordained as a Southern Baptist deacon at Springlake Baptist Church. He later joined First Baptist Church where he was a member for many years. John served his family well by leading them to be people of faith, by instilling in them loyalty and integrity, and by providing wise counsel when asked. He served his friends and community through terms on the Paris City Council, the Paris Independent School District Board of Trustees where he served many years as President of the Board, and the Paris Economic Development Corp. John was one of four original investors in what became Share Corporation, a national company which manufactures and sells chemical products. He was serving Share Corp. as Vice-President and a member of the Board of Directors at the time of his death. Survivors include sons Johnny and wife Renee’, Kem and wife Sally, and Ricky and wife Kim; grandchildren Jonee’ Shifflet and husband Shane, John Wright and wife Carrie, Jenci Garcia and husband Leonardo, Travis Wright and fiancé Claudia Morales, Juli Ann Darnell and husband JC, and Rileigh Wright; great-grandchildren Devyn Shifflet, Cruz Garcia and Anniston Darnell; brother James Wright and sisters Ruby Briggs and Hope Chargois. John was preceded in death by his wife of more than 54 years, Bettye Click Wright. Visitation will be Saturday morning April 30, at 10:00 at First Baptist Church, with the funeral service, officiated by Dr. Tommy Turner and Dr. Bryan Fellers, to follow immediately at 11:00. Burial will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Bright-Holland Funeral Home where Mr. Wright will lie in repose until 8:00 p.m. today. Pallbearers are JC Darnell, Leonardo Garcia, Shane Shifflet, Jeff Wright, John Wright and Travis Wright. Honorary pallbearers are Tom DesJardins, Dr. A. J. Hashmi, Bill Jones, Bill Strathern, Weldon Slaton and the members of John’s Senior Adult Sunday School Class. The family wishes to publicly thank the doctors, nurses and staff at Paris Regional Medical Center for their compassionate and professional care. And a special “thank you” to Dr. A. J. Hashmi for his professional care and for his friendship with Pops. The family requests that any memorial donations be made to First Baptist Church “Finish the Race”, P. O. Box 489, Paris, TX 75461.