Carl Wright

On January 7th, 2021, Carl Wright, husband and father of two children, passed away at the age of 67.

Carl was born on May 12th, 1953 in Buffalo, NY to Grover and Caroline Wright. He was a brother to three sisters and one brother. Growing up, Carl was very sibling oriented.  He liked to crack jokes and sing with his sisters, especially Beatles songs of the time.  He did great belly flops and somersaults into the family’s pool and played billiards in the basement amongst the colored lights and neon posters that they made.  They watched “Batman” and “The Mod Squad” religiously while eating Cap’n Crunch cereal straight from the box!  Carl was the peacemaker during sibling squabbles; he was “the calm one.”   

He graduated from Frontier High School in 1971. After a few rather rambunctious teenage years, Carl settled down and worked at Fisher Bus Service as a mechanic for school buses, coaches and trucks.  He was an excellent mechanic and could even diagnose mechanical problems over the phone!  Carl worked at Fisher Bus Service for 20 years.  His work was always respected by bus drivers and his mechanic peers.

Carl began his married life and purchased a house by the age of twenty.  He and his first wife, Barbara Campbell had their son David Carl.  Although their early marriage changed, Carl was always respectful and never lost touch with his son.  David was always important to Carl. Several years later, Carl married his second wife, Sue, and together they had a daughter, Emily Jordan.  Life was fulfilling until an unfortunate mishap at work made working on such large vehicles too difficult to continue.  Carl relocated his family to Hudson, Florida where he worked as an auto mechanic. They lived near his Uncle Carl and Aunt Louise Mancino. Carl worked hard to help support his family. Carl was quiet and quick-witted, a lifelong music lover, and determined in all the things he cared about.

One birthday, Carl received a small telescope as a gift which kicked off his interest in astronomy.  For the next 25 years, Carl delved deeply into the hobby which quickly became a true passion. He became obsessed with bigger and more varied telescopes. He learned how to use them for both observing and astrophotography purposes.  His love for the hobby made him nearly an expert on telescopes and the stars.  Over the time he observed, Carl made many good friends. They appreciated Carl’s ability to share information and help out people with their telescopes. Carl participated in numerous astronomy events (Star Parties) over the years and assisted his friend Mike Zammit in building Star Structure telescopes. Together they delivered a 32” Dobsonian reflector telescope to Lowell Observatory in Arizona for the Giovale Open Deck Observatory. 

Carl’s friends also appreciated his great humor and the fact that he was an instigator; “I met Carl almost 25 years ago at the St Pete Astronomy club. The thing about Carl I remember the most is how much fun we had together. I'm not a sappy guy but yeah, he added a lot to the hobby and helped a ton of folks (including myself!) with issues and never felt put out. In fact, it was the opposite- he was happy to do so. But again what stands out is he always knew how to have fun while he was observing. There were so many things I could mention it could easily fill a small book. One memory in particular stands out: In the middle of the night during a New Moon at a dark sky night when you could barely see your hand in front of your face, was, of course, the perfect opportunity for mischief! Carl would wend his way through the observing field between the people, tents and telescopes chatting away about equipment, conditions, objects in the sky, etc. waiting for the perfect chance to strike. At the perfect time; when everything had fallen into place, unbeknownst to his victim (of which I was one of many!), Carl would begin to freak out and bring his friend’s attention to a skunk heading towards them and their high dollar equipment.  

Of course chaos ensued, throwing things at the skunk and trying to find anything they could to shoo the critter away so they and their gear wouldn't get sprayed! Little did they know Carl had strategically placed a stuffed toy skunk with a string (invisible in the dark) tied around its head pulling on the string leading the little stuffed animal on direct course towards them!  

Again, at the right time Carl would either: give the toy a boot, pretend to beat it or just go pick it up. Anyway he decided to end the charade that always ended with a whole lot of knee slapping and laughter. This is just one of the many things I will miss about Carl, observing with him, but most of all his friendship. Gonna miss you brother. All my love.” Thank you for that Scott Bennett! 

And from another good friend, Steve Brunner:  “His passion for astronomy was second to none.  People looked up to Carl and respected him for his honesty.  He was trustworthy.  Many people will miss him because he had many friends.”    

Carl is preceded in death by his brother, Richard Wright and postceded in death by his mother, Caroline Wright, who sadly passed on January 11, 2021. He is survived by his father, Grover, his three sisters, Rita Gallagher, Linda Wright, and Cindy Brockman, his wife, Sue Baisch, and his children, David Wright and Emily Wright. We will update with more information at a later date and time.

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