Floyd Donald Wright (Col., U.S. Army, Ret.)

Floyd D. Wright (Col., U.S. Army, Ret.), 95, a resident of Bonita Springs, FL since 1976, passed away on, Thursday, September 28, 2018. A native of Asheville, NC, he was the son of the late Erskine E. Wright and Sallie V. Pressley-Wright-Sharp-Campbell of Buncombe County, NC. Floyd is survived by his wife, Sonja; four children, Don, Bob, Glenn, Susan; eleven grandchildren; and eleven great grandchildren. Floyd was married to the mother of his four children, the late Evelyn S. O’Brien-Wright for twenty-four years. He was married to his second wife, Edna M. England-Wright for thirty-eight years. Floyd married his third wife, Sonja Aiken-Boiseau-O’Keefe-Wright in 2006. He was an active member of the Bonita Springs Lions Club since 1984. He was a Melvin Jones Fellow, a Life Member and received the President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership during one of many tours on the Board of Directors. For the year 1996-1997 he received the Lion of the Year Award and Outstanding Service Award. For several years he was Chairman of the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and the Nominating Committee. He served on the Finance Committee and many other committees. On Wednesdays, he and his wife worked in the Thrift Store. In 1997, he managed the construction of the third building at the Lions Thrift Store. At age 16, Floyd joined Company E, 105th Engineer Combat Regiment, of the 30th Infantry Division, North Carolina National Guard in Asheville in 1939. A year later his unit was called to active duty for the duration of W.W. II plus six months. He rose through the ranks from Private to Staff Sergeant (Platoon Sergeant). On graduating from the Engineer Officers Candidate School as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1942, he joined the 51st Engineer Combat Battalion as a Platoon leader in Company A. After training the unit was deployed to North Africa, then to England and then participated in all five battle campaigns in Europe. Ending the war as Commander of Company A, Floyd was awarded the Bronze Star for Heroic Achievement, the Purple Heart and his battalion received the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre with Silver Star for action during the Battle of the Bulge. After W.W. II, he finished two years of high School and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Clemson University in 1950. He was recalled to active duty in 1951 for the Korean War. Deciding to make the Army a carrer, he served for 32 years. He had assignments in Korea, Japan, ROTC at Montana State University, Taiwan, the Pentagon, Commander of the 575th Engineer Construction Battalion (awarded the Legion of Merit for this assignment), and the Panama Canal Company. Along the way, Floyd earned an MS in Applied Science from Montana State University and an MS in Civil Engineering/Structural Dynamics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He retired from the Army in the Canal Zone and worked as a Civil Engineer for five years before moving to Florida in 1976. In his neighborhood, Floyd will be remembered as “the man who walked the little dog”. A Lions Club memorial service will be held on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at 1:00 PM at Shikany’s Bonita Funeral Home, 28300 Tamiami Trail South, Bonita Springs. Burial will take place at Cane Creek Cemetery in Fairview, NC. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home.

Floyd Donald Wright (Col., U.S. Army, Ret.)

May 22, 1923 - September 27, 2018