Billy Grant Wright

Celebration of the Life of Billy Grant Wright Billy Grant Wright, 88, passed away from heart failure on August 22, 2022, at his home following a long illness. Billy was born on April 18, 1934, to Bill Wright and Mary Ethel Smith Wright in Deport, Texas. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, W.B. Wright and David Wayne Wright. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Margaret Soderquist Wright; his children, Tina Billman, Patrick Wright (Yvonne), and Carla Sanchez; his grandchildren, Daniel Sanchez, Katherine Sanchez Menne, David Sanchez, Dalton Rhodes, Julia Billman and Victoria Billman. He is also survived by three great-grandchildren, Gabriel Menne, Galena Menne and Godiva Menne. Billy graduated from Weslaco High School in 1951 where he played football and ran track. He was selected as All Valley Tackle his senior year. He attended the University of Houston on a football scholarship, and was playing for the Cougars in 1952 when they won the Missouri Conference. Billy left college and served in the U.S. Air Force from 1956 to 1960. For his service he received the Air Force Commendation Medal for meritorious achievement as a specialist for all hydraulic maintenance while attached to the 477th Tactical Fighter Squadron during the period of September 1st through December 20th, 1958, playing a significant part in the success of Tactical Air Command’s Composite Air Strike Force Operation XRay Tango. Later, he served in the Air Force Reserves for two years. Billy was employed as a hydraulic technician at Kelly Air Base in San Antonio. On July 6, 1960, he married Margaret Soderquist. They moved to Missouri where he and some friends worked in setting up coin laundromats for the Philco Bendix automatic washing machines. The family returned to Houston, Texas, where he was again employed with Philco Bendix. Later, he worked for Ingersoll Rand, building offshore drilling platforms. The Wrights returned to Weslaco in 1971, where he worked for Robinson Machine Company in McAllen as a metal fabricator until he retired. He also designed their home which his son built in Donna in 1985. He lived there until his time of death. After retirement, Billy’s brother-in-law, Frank Soderquist introduced him to beekeeping which became a hobby as well as a source of income and recreation. He and Margaret also kept a small orchard of grapefruit. He served as President of the Rio Grande Valley Beekeepers Association for 10 years and served as the Rio Grande Valley representative for the Texas Beekeepers Association. The family would like to extend their gratitude to the nurses and staff of Greater Valley Hospice for assisting his family in caring for him at home. Visitation will be at Vaughan Funeral Home in Donna, Texas from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 25. Interment will be on Friday, August 26, at 10:00 a.m. at the Donna City Cemetery.

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