Edward Joseph Wright Jr., 83, of Chester

Edward Joseph Wright Jr. of Chester passed away peacefully and on his own terms surrounded by his loving family on March 14, 2024 after a slow decline from Pulmonary Fibrosis. He was 83. He was born on July 23, 1940, to Edward J. Wright Sr. and Lauretta (Picard) Wright.

Eddy, or Junior as he was called, grew up working on the family dairy farm from a very young age. He graduated from Chester High School and attended UVM briefly. A master of many trades, he taught carpentry, electrical and plumbing as well as taking care of maintenance, groundskeeping and anything that needed doing at East Hill School in Andover. He managed the shipping department at The National Survey in Chester and worked at Belknap’s Mill Hill Lumber in Cavendish as well as Smokeshire Woodworks/Great Brook Furniture/Kiosko in Springfield.

As a conscientious objector, Ed served his country by working at the Greystone Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey. This is where he met Nancy Searles. They married 1963 and moved back to Vermont, where they had two children, Tammy and Joe. They divorced in 1972. Ed met Marleen Hunsdon while both were working at the National Survey. They married in May of 1976 and had two children, Jeanie and David, whom they raised in Chester.

Ed was a quiet man who didn’t venture far but was always willing to lend a hand. He had an incredible work ethic and everything he attempted was done with ingenuity and precision. He had a brown belt in Judo and enjoyed whittling, kayaking and watching tennis. But what mattered most to Ed was spending time with his family, especially his grandsons whom he adored beyond measure, never missing a sporting event or opportunity to pass along tidbits of knowledge.

Ed is survived by his wife of 48 years, Marleen (Hunsdon) Wright of Chester, and his four children: Tammy J. Wright and her husband Allan Green Jr., of Andover; Joseph E. Wright and his wife Mary Moeykens, of Perkinsville; Jeanie L. Wright and her son Damion, of Chester; David E. Wright, his wife Christina (Brown) Wright and their two sons Cole and Sam of Springfield.

A private celebration of life will be held in July.