Wanda M. Wright

Jan 29, 1930 -

Apr 28, 2020

Wanda M. Wright, age 90, Southwest Harbor, Maine died April 28, 2020 of complications of diabetes at a hospital in Bangor, Maine. She was born on Jan. 29, 1930 to Garland P. Merrell and Dora L. Merrell of Seminole, Okla. Her first marriage was to Perry A. Mead MD in 1950 and they had 6 children; the first boy died at birth. They moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1954. She loved to take her five young children outdoors to camp and ski while her husband was busy working as the only neurosurgeon in Alaska during that era. Their marriage did not survive the stresses endured after two of their boys perished in the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. Their home was shaken into the sea in the part of Anchorage now called Earthquake Park.

Following the divorce from her first husband, she attended college at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and earned a teacher's certificate. After graduation she taught for several years in Anchorage, Alaska until two sudden family tragedies threatened to blow her off course in 1981. In two incidents she lost her mother, a brother, DeWitt Merrell, and her daughter, Pamela Mead. Thankfully her close friend Rick Wright offered for her to join a sailing trip he had planned from Douglas, Alaska to Europe. This invite led to their very fondly remembered 6 years where they enjoyed the cruising lifestyle in their 28-foot cutter; 'Consort.' Her second marriage was to this friend, Frederick F. Wright, on March 16, 1984.

In the late 1990's, Wanda and Rick retired to the Mount Desert Island area in Maine. Wanda established her pottery shop 'Rose Colored Glazes' in Southwest Harbor, Maine and enjoyed many activities such as the Blueberry Jammers dulcimer group, croquet, sewing, knitting, cooking and Mah Jongg. She was known for her generosity with contributions of time and baked goodies for multiple organizations and activities. The local clinic sponsored valuable classes on topics such as diabetes and pregnancy due to her efforts. After 2005, she made regular sojourns to Gustavus, Alaska to work as a transplanter in her daughter's greenhouse business. Her decades in Southwest Harbor with many dear friends, great neighbors, and compelling activities were good years.

She was survived by her husband, Frederick F. Wright of Southwest Harbor, Maine, who is now deceased; her daughter, Penelope ("Mossy") Mead, of Fairbanks, Alaska; her son, Paul A. Mead and daughter in-law, Cindy H. Mead of both Driggs, Idaho and Loveland, Colo. as well as her three granddaughters. Also, several nieces and nephews in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Wanda's ashes were spread along the shoreline of Earthquake Park in Anchorage in fall of 2021.