Edinburgh
William Wayne Wright (Wayne) of Edinburgh was born October 29, 1920, in the Pisgah area of what is now Camp Atterbury to Francis Fenton and Kate Compton Wright. He was a 1938 graduate of Edinburgh High School where he excelled at basketball and baseball. He was a World War II veteran, serving in the infantry and as a member of a 4-man tank crew in the European theater. Wayne was a career master carpenter in the Columbus area, however every winter he would put this career on hold and work full time as a fur trapper and part-time wood cutter. Living in a home on the banks of the Driftwood River in northern Bartholomew County, Wayne was a self-taught naturalist and rugged outdoorsman. In 1980, he married Vera Higdon.
Wayne was a lifetime member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Edinburgh. He enjoyed pitching horseshoes and was on the board of the Johnson County Parks Horseshoe Courts. He was a member of the Nineveh Area Senior Citizens Center where he enjoyed playing euchre and ping pong. He was a longtime volunteer at Columbus Regional Hospital.
Wayne lived at home independently for 95 years, driving every day for his morning coffee, enjoying the camaraderie of his many friends and extended family and never missing Mass on Sunday. His bright smile and gentle spirit will be missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.
Wayne was preceded in death by his wife, Vera, and stepdaughter, Pam Brooks.
He is survived by his sister, Mariana Lee of Edinburgh; five stepchildren, Jeanette Freeman of Columbus, Imogene Rogers and Marion Kirby of Edinburgh, Charlene Cassidy of Martinsville and Larry Higdon of Fairland; and 22 grandchildren.
Funeral service will be conducted at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, September 6, 2016, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Edinburgh by Father Clem Davis. Calling will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Monday, September 5, at Eskew-Eaton Funeral Home in Edinburgh, with a Rosary service at 4 p.m. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery in Edinburgh.
