Sharon Elaine Wright

Sharon Elaine Wright passed away on September 28, 2023, in Mansfield, Texas, surrounded by her family. She was born on July 28, 1947, in Brownfield, Texas, the first born for her parents, Alvia Leeowns and Sarah Orlena Morris.

Sharon Wright was a gardener. Each spring she cultivated two long flower beds that sat in front of her raised back patio. She filled the soil with wildflowers, pansies, and pollinators to attract bees and butterflies. On occasion, she would talk to her plants, which she said helped them thrive. Each afternoon she would sit with her husband, Ronnie, and watch the hummingbirds dart from bush to feeder, at one with the beauty she had nurtured.

Sharon Wright was a learner. She graduated from TCU in 1979 and never stopped learning, going back to school in the 1990s for her teaching certificate. She loved language and words. She was a champion crossword solver. She loved books for all ages. She would read to her children in the womb and her grandchildren in her lap. She adored mysteries and novels. When she passed, she was working on a project near and dear to her heart: reading books that had been banned across the U.S.

Sharon Wright was a teacher. She taught first grade at Tarver Rendon Elementary in Mansfield for 17 years. She was made for it. She had a teacher’s voice. She was kind, patient, and firm. Her students loved her, especially ones who struggled with poverty and tragedy. She wanted to help them, and she never judged them, even when they became adults.

Sharon Wright was a fighter. During the political tumult of recent years, she protested for better gun regulation with a sign that read, “If teachers have to carry guns, then presidents should have to read books!!!” Her husband was a boxer, but Sharon Wright knew how to throw punches in her own way.

Sharon Wright was the life of the party. She always made holidays feel special. She danced to everything from Fleetwood Mac to Janis Joplin, from the Beatles to Erykah Badu. She got her only tattoo in her 70s. Every event at her home, from holidays to birthdays to the Academy Awards, got the full Sharon Wright treatment: themed libations, trays and trays of homemade food, and a guest list that numbered dozens.

Sharon Wright was a sister. Like all siblings, Sharon and her sister, Sheila, and her brother, Barry, were close as children. But unlike most, their bonds only grew stronger as they went through life. With Barry, she was the bossy older sister, someone who wasn’t afraid to tell her college-football-playing brother how it was. It helped that she found a kindred spirit in Barry’s wife, Jayne. With Sheila, she found her lifelong best friend, whether girl-tripping on a cruise or sitting quietly on that backyard patio.

Sharon Wright was a Nana. Her grandchildren and nieces filled Sharon’s life with joy, which she returned every day in many ways: picking out a wedding dress with her niece Sarah; listening to rap music or playing video games with her grandson Ryan; championing the union between her granddaughter Erin and her wife, Emily; volunteering to help teach her grandson Cohen’s first-grade class; practicing singing and reading with her granddaughter Hazel; and attending every soccer game, recital, and school “Grandparents’ Day.” For each of them and their friends, Nana was a loving grandmother and their number one fan.

Sharon Wright was a mother. She was completely selfless, never judging and always supporting her girls, encouraging them to find their own paths and taking joy in who they became as adults. The girls always came first. In her, they found a mother who would always listen, who would console, who unconditionally loved them. A mother who became a best friend for each. They never had more fun than when they were together, laughing and dancing on the patio, reminiscing about favorite vacations, and looking forward to the next one. She never had a son, until Misty married Brian, whom Sharon loved like her own.

Sharon Wright was a wife. Ronnie and Sharon fell in love in 1970 when he hypnotized her at a bar in Arlington. The spell worked, and they celebrated their 53rd anniversary in April. Sharon would laugh at Ronnie’s jokes and celebrate his adventures. She supported him on his business endeavors and became his caregiver when he needed her most. And they always found time to dance – in the kitchen, on the patio, anywhere the music moved them. Cheek-to-cheek with the woman he called, “Beautiful.”

Together, with their three girls, they were “The Original 5,” and nothing is more important than their time together. Sharon left a last request – that the Original 5: “Always remember that we are a family. We have always been there for each other. We have always loved each other. My heart’s desire is that this continues long after Ronnie and I are gone.”

Sharon Wright was a saint. She was grace personified. Her kindness was so complete, so pure, that it felt unmatched by anyone else – perhaps because it was. Her love was at once fierce and completely forgiving. She never took sides. She listened actively, without judgment. Through her presence and serenity, you felt more at one with yourself, your family, and the world around you. That’s the power of her spirit. Like the flowers in her garden, when she talked to us, we thrived. She nurtured us all. Whatever beauty we take from here today, we take because Sharon Wright taught us how to tend our gardens with love everlasting.

Sharon was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Ronald Wright; daughter, Misty Clark, and son-in-law Brian Clark; daughter, Wendy Wright Danner; daughter, Megan Wright, and her partner, Eric Celeste; grandchildren – Erin Clark and her wife Emily Hall, Ryan Clark, Cohen Laurence, and Hazel Danner; brother, Barry Morris, and sister-in-law, Jayne Morris; sister, Sheila Pollard, and brother-in-law Bill Pollard; sister-in-law Monette Clark; and nieces and nephews Sarah Pollard, Taressa Joslin, Chipper Joslin, BJ Clark, and Nicholas Clark; Maddison Celeste; and many, many, many other close family friends and loved ones.

A visitation will be held at Emerald Hills Funeral Home and Memorial Park at 500 Kennedale Sublett Road, Kennedale, Texas, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4, 2023, followed by a graveside service at 12:15 p.m. We welcome all who knew and loved Sharon.