It is with great sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Barry Wright III on October 3, 2023.
Barry was born on December 7, 1952 in Rome, Georgia to Barry Wright Jr. and Alicia Cooper Wright.
A graduate of Darlington School, Barry participated in varsity tennis and swimming. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1974 with a BA in history. He attended law school at Mercer University but discovered that law school was not for him. After completing his doctorate in English at the University of Georgia, he then earned an MBA at Georgia Southern University.
Barry was vice president of Suntrust Bank (now Truist) in Rome until his retirement.
On his way to becoming a bachelor, to the delight of his large extended family, Barry met the love of his life, Jacquelyn Buttram, and they were married on December 14, 1985. They had a wonderful and spirited marriage.
Barry was preceded in death by his grandparents, Fredrick Stanley Cooper and Maguerite Watts Cooper & Barry Wright, Sr. and Mary Ann Phelan Wright, his parents and two siblings: Margaret Wright Kaminer and Fredrick Cooper Wright.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Jacquelyn Buttram Wright, and the light of his life, his daughter, Jacquelyn Alicia Wright. He is also survived by his brother Sidney P. Wright, numerous nieces and nephews, and his dogs Leo and Bart. His family meant the world to him.
A lifelong student of history and literature, Barry pursued these interests alongside his family’s genealogy in retirement, culminating in the publication of his great-grandfather’s biography, John Paul Cooper: Georgia Giant in the Revival of Cotton during the Early 1900s. He found it deeply important to share on Facebook photos and letters he had sorted and scanned from his family archives over a decade, often posting gems with characteristic enigmatic explanations. He was a talented pianist, from Schubert to Christmas carols, and loved horses and dogs. He also loved searching for shark teeth early in the morning in Ponte Vedra, Florida, and gardening his roses at his home in Kingston, where he read avidly (mostly fantasy and English graphic novels).
Barry was a “cradle” Episcopalian and attended St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, where he was baptized as an infant and later served in the church’s vestry as senior overseer.
A service will be held at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Tuesday, October 10 at 2:00 p.m., with a visitation at 1:00 p.m. Burial will take place immediately following the service in the Wright family area of Myrtle Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials be made to either Darlington School, 1014 Cave Spring Road, Rome, GA 30161, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 101 East 4th Avenue, Rome, GA 30161 or the Chieftains Museum, 501 Riverside Parkway. to build. Rome, GA 30161.
Henderson and Sons Funeral Home, North Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
