Carolyn Wright
Carolyn Wright of Mattituck entered this world a number of weeks early on Oct. 16, 1938. She departed on Nov. 16, 2019, at the skilled nursing facility of Peconic Bay Medical Center’s Palliative Care Unit and went to her Lord.
Her parents were Ellis Fonner Van Riper (former Transport Workers Union of America president) and Viola Martha Schultz Van Riper.
Surviving are her husband, John; sons, Peter and Christopher; daughter-in-law, Kerry; granddaughters, Megan and Patricia; and a sprinkling of cousins, nieces and nephews.
Born in Brooklyn, Carolyn moved to Nassau in 1952, attended Sewanhaka High School, graduating in 1956, and from Hofstra University in 1960, where she majored in political science.
She met John at Hofstra where he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army in 1959. They were married Jan. 14, 1961, and pulled into the gates of Fort Gordon in Georgia as President John F. Kennedy was giving his inaugural address.
When John left the Army, he became a social worker and Carolyn a homemaker until it was time to send the boys to college. She earned her paralegal certificate with honors and worked for several law firms until both retired.
Both were very active in church renewal, including giving conferences, food pantries and homeless shelters, even as their health declined.
Being a “what’s next person” since birth, she became involved in pastel drawing and quality reading. She continued to enjoy and be proud of her sons, whom she referred to as “forces of nature.”
She maintained a lifetime of quietly helping others with her never-failing sense of humor until the end.
A wake was held Nov. 19, 2019, at Wantagh Abbey and a celebration Mass at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church in Wantagh, officiated by Bishop Provenzano and assisting clergy on Nov. 20, 2019. Interment followed afterward at the inside columbarium.
In place of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude’s Women and Children Center, Suffolk County Make a Wish Foundation or AHRC.
“O.K. Lord, what’s next?”
This is a paid notice.
