GEORGIA R. WRIGHT, 1923-2010: Teacher inspired her 4th-graders

8/25/2010

Georgia R. Wright, who for 21 years offered fourth graders her creative elan and attention to detail, died Aug. 17 in Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Perrysburg Township. She was 87 and had pancreatic cancer.

Mrs. Wright, of Perrysburg, retired in 1983 from Frank Elementary School, Perrysburg, which was called Pine Street School during much of her tenure.

"She was a wonderful teacher and a friend to the students [and] the parents," said Dorothy Neal, who also taught fourth grade at Frank. "We had lots of fun."

But Mrs. Wright was no pushover.

"She was strict with the children," Mrs. Neal said. "She was a lady of her word."

The school's fourth grade teachers often collaborated on projects. With clay from deep below Perrysburg's streets - the city was digging sewers - the teachers let students make natural pottery.

One year, students saved their pennies to pay for a flight from Toledo to Detroit and a behind-the-scenes tour of Metro Airport. Another year, the students studied the history of the Maumee Valley.

"She was very creative, artistic," Mrs. Neal said. "She handled details beautifully, and she could think through projects."

Mrs. Wright was born Feb. 22, 1923, near Anderson, Ind., to Alma and George Robertson. She was a graduate of Yorktown, Ind., High School and Ball State University.

She had master's degrees from the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.

Mrs. Wright taught in Riceville, Ind., Yorktown, Ind., and Muncie Ind., before her husband was transferred in his job with Craig Transportation, and the family moved to Perrysburg.

She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church, Perrysburg.

Surviving are her husband, Doyle, whom she married May 25, 1946, sons, James D. and Joe H. Wright, brother, L.M. "Bud" Robertson, and three grandchildren.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 2 in the Witzler-Shank Funeral Home, Perrysburg, where memorial services will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 3.

The family suggests tributes to Hospice of Northwest Ohio.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.