Maurice Eugene Wright, 95Maurice Eugene Wright, age 95, died peacefully on Thursday May 4, 2017 at Sonora at Splendido in Oro Valley, AZ. He was the only child of Vera Woollis and Avill Wright, born on July 10, 1921 in Corydon, IA. Maurice was known as "Chick", a nickname given to him because as a young man he was frequently seen at a local chicken restaurant. After attending junior college in Creston, he attended the University of Iowa, where on a blind date he met Dorothe Adele Lorenz, daughter of Antje Marie Tulp and Frank Henry Lorenz, owner of the Lorenz Boot Shop in Iowa City. He volunteered for military service in WWII and was inducted into the Army in 1943, immediately following graduation from the University of Iowa with a BS degree in Commerce. He served in the European theater in the signal corps, and was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Staff Sergeant. During military training, Chick and Dorothe eloped and were married on June 19, 1943 by a judge in Little Rock, AR. They married a second time September 23, 1943 for friends and family in Stillwater, OK. Chick returned to the University of Iowa and graduated with a second BS degree in Electrical Engineering. In 1948, he joined the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC and worked in the Aerobee rocket program. In 1958, he began work at the Federal Aviation Agency and in the 1960's helped develop the ARTS III air traffic control system. In the early 1970's, he served as director of the regional air traffic control center in Longmont, CO and also consulted on air traffic control in Caracus, Venezula. After retirement from the FAA in 1978, Chick and Dorothe moved to Santa Rosa, CA where he was an avid tennis player. They enjoyed travelling around the world. In 1996 they moved to Ellensburg, WA to be closer to their daughter, and then to Tucson, AZ. Dorothe died in Oro Valley, AZ on October 30, 2012. Chick is survived by his two children, Sharon Johnson in Tucson and Dr. Steven Wright in Westchester County, NY, four grandchildren Mike Gunn, Jeremy, Jason and Shauna Wright and one great grandchild Orion Gunn of Ephrata, WA. He will be deeply missed.
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