On Sunday, May 13th at 1:00 PM, Robert Earl Wright passed away peacefully at Mercy Medical Center in Redding California. Robert was born January 19, 1927 in Memphis Tennessee. As a young child, his mother moved to Southern California, where she began her Hollywood acting career with MGM studios. As a teenager, Robert was employed as a carpenter by MGM Studios building movie sets. After turning 18 in 1945, he was drafted by the United States Army, and shipped out to Japan. Fortunately, WWII ended when he was halfway across the Pacific, he then spent one year on patrol in Tokyo. Upon returning home, he lived on a sail boat for a short time in Long Beach, and went back to work as a carpenter. In 1953 he met his 1st wife Sandy, and by 1955 they had 2 sons. Also in 1955, Robert joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He worked as a L.A. Sheriff until early 1959 then applied to the California Highway Patrol academy and went through 6 months of vigorous training and became a California Highway Patrol officer on July 13th, 1959. In 1961 he went back to the CHP academy to be trained as a Motorcycle Officer. He spent 6 years crushing crime as a Motorcycle cop.
In 1968, Robert met his 2nd wife Helen. At that time Robert was working out of the CHP West L. A. office. In 1968 they decided to transfer to Redding Ca. Robert retired from the CHP in November 1981. Robert had a very active retirement. While the majority of his career was spent in law enforcement, his passion was always carpentry, and he spent many hours crafting items like gun cabinets, his carport, his patio decks, and even small boats (sometimes just to shoot at!). He was an avid tennis player well in to his 80's, he loved shooting, and above all he loved to laugh! He could tell hours of stories and keep everyone laughing and entertained!
His wife Helen passed away on May 22, 2015.
Robert is survived by his 2 sons, Robert Wright II, Jeffrey Wright and stepson Mike Lehman. Grandchildren; Robert Wright III, Kelly Trichter, Daniel Wright, Jennifer Olds, and Amy Lehman. Great Grandchildren; Braeson Olds, Hudson Olds, and Shaye Olds.
Memorial service will be held at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery, 11800 Gas Point Rd, Igo, CA 96047, Tuesday, May 29th, at 11:00 AM.
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