Dr. Harvel Amos Wright passed away on January 3, 2020 at age 86. He was the son of Hugh and Myrtle (Lawson) Wright. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Carleta (Southerland) Wright; sister Faye (Wright) Franklin; son Michael Wright and wife Liza (Doull) Wright; and daughter Nancy (Wright) Grady and husband Bill Grady. He is also survived by four grandchildren, Christopher Wright, Kevin Wright, Graham Wright, and Emily Grady.
Harvel grew up on a family farm in Arkansas, and was the first of his family to ever go to college. He worked his way through school all the way to a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Tennessee. He worked as a Health Physicist at Oak Ridge National Lab for 28 years studying the effects of radiation on biological tissues. He retired from ORNL to lead a startup company, Consultec Scientific. He had many passions including flying, boating, snow skiing, and riding his four-wheeler on the trails he constructed in the woods surrounding his ridge-top home. He delighted in giving people their first ride in an airplane or on a motorcycle. He and Carleta loved to travel, living in Geneva Switzerland for a year, Zurich Switzerland for a summer, and eventually traveling through every contiguous county in the 48 United States. He was a man of many skills and could fix anything - including repairing and painting cars - and loved building new features into his home and shop.
Harvel and Carleta were members of Cumberland Baptist Church for 55 years – where Harvel sang in choir, taught Sunday School, and served on a number of committees. Harvel was kind to all, willing to help anyone, and never met anyone he didn’t enjoy talking with.
Visitation will be held at Weaver’s Chapel Thursday, from 5:00-7:00 pm with service to follow at 7:00. Family and friends will meet at Oak Ridge Memorial Park Friday at 10:45 am for an 11:00 am interment. www.weaverfuneralservices.com
Weaver Funeral Home
5815 Western Ave.
Knoxville, TN 37921
