H. Curtis Wright

Herbert Curtis Wright (b. 16 February 1928), beloved father, grandfather, scholar, BYU professor, and avid fisherman, passed away peacefully in his home during the wee hours of Sunday 22 January 2012 after a brief illness. He married Jeannene Dowding on 28 June 1957, and she preceded him in death on 20 February 1996. He later married Jean Bates, who also preceded him in death in 2009. He was 83 years old. A steady stream of relatives and friends called on him at his home the night before, and three of his sons and two daughters-in-law were with him when he passed. H. Curtis Wright had a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ and emphasized throughout his life how the Saviour had redeemed from the effects of the fall of man all who believed on His name. People who knew him well understood that the atonement of Jesus Christ was without question the central reality of his life and the one thing he treasured most. Curtis was born in 1928 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Herbert Emil Wright and Frances Minerva Curtis Wright. He graduated from Jordan High School in 1946, did a stint in the United States Navy from 1946-1948, and served a horseback mission for the LDS church on the Navajo Reservation from 1948 to 1950. Over the long course of his education he earned three master's degrees in library science and Semitic languages from three universities, and in 1969 he earned a composite PhD in Library Science and Greek Literature from Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio. From 1969 to until his retirement in 1993 he was a professor in the Department of Library and Information Sciences at Brigham Young University. Curtis is survived by his elder sisters Frances Wright Fuller and Melva Wright Jacobsen; his younger sisters Afton Wright Bryant and Ila Wright Bolander; his younger brothers Garth Wright and Stanley Wright; his five sons David (Christina), Newell (Julie), Tracy, Gordon (Myrleen), and Bryan (Shauna); and fifteen grandchildren. Viewing will be on Wednesday January 25, 2012 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Cayonview Stake Center at 575 East 800 North in Orem. Funeral services will be held at this same location on Thursday January 26 at 10:00 a.m., preceded by a brief viewing prior to funeral services from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, and in memory of Curtis's legacy as a scholar and educator, donations be made to the Perpetual Education Fund of the LDS church.