Wright, Mary – 1941-2010

DEAL, DODD, HURT, MILANTI, SPARKS, WRIGHT

Posted By: JCGS Volunteer
Date: 10/31/2010 at 18:39:00

Mary Wright, 69, of Newton died Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, at Hospice of Jasper County Monarch Wing in Newton.
A funeral service will be at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home in Newton with the Rev. Gary Marzolf of First United Methodist Church in Newton. The family will greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, at the funeral home. Burial will be at the Newton Union Cemetery at a later date.
Memorials to the First United Methodist Church or to the Eastern Star Chapter 100 may be left at the funeral home.
The daughter of Fred and Lois (Deal) Hurt, Mary was born Feb. 25, 1941, in Jasper County, Iowa. She graduated from Newton Senior High School in 1959, and she was united in marriage to Jack Wright on Aug. 1, 1959, in Newton.
She worked for the Newton School District where she was a para-pro and then later retired from the copy center. She had also worked at Morgan’s Jewelry Store in the mall.
Mary was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Eastern Star Chapter 100, the Kornpatch Clowns of Des Moines, the Accords — an accordion group that played in nursing homes and churches, and a line dance group.
Mary loved being a clown and making children happy. She went to parades, birthday parties, nursing homes, schools and other community events, where she would do face painting and balloon animals. She also was a mentor and reading buddy at Emerson Hough School, the library and area daycares. Mary also went to Park Center and taught line dancing.
Mary was a lifelong resident of Jasper County, living in the Baxter and Newton areas.
Mary is survived by her husband, Jack of Newton; two sons, Jim (Melinda) Wright of Newton and Rod (Vicki) Wright of Newton; a daughter, Shelley (Doug) Dodd of Newton; eight grandchildren, Jeff Dodd, Amy Milanti, Mindi Dodd, Jamie Wright, Dillon Wright, Megan Wright, Stephanie Sparks and Jonathan Wright; and six great-grandchildren, Brennen Dodd, Drew Dodd, Emily Milanti, Madison Milanti, Lily Dodd and Bailey Jo Sparks.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, John, in 1961.
Source: Newton Daily News; Monday, October 25, 2010