Michael Thomas “Bud” Wright Family
My Father, Michael Thomas “Bud” Wright was the 9th child born to James Wright and Anna Brennan Wright. The Wright Family of Larksville, Pennsylvania, fit the very definition of a formidable Irish clan…….Catholicism, Wit, Unity, and Laughter ruled their world and no doubt got them through some of life’s challenging times.
I’m a little late with my my submission of the Bud Wright portion of The Wright Family of Larksville Website, and I will include as many details as brevity allows about our family, but first I want to reflect a little……
My perspective of life in Larksville came from a yearly summer immersion in what seemed to me to be a place that my parents never should have left. How could they not want to live with family who stood together to greet us with cheers when we arrived on Murray St. at the end of our six hour drive from Buffalo? And how, in those pre-cellphone days, did the family know exactly when we would get there? They did, and it showed that they all cared deeply that Bud had come to visit with his family.
We would get to say hello to everyone and then we went “up the road” to the quieter world of my Mother’s childhood home at 471 E. State St. Mom and Pop Leahy would be so happy to see us too. We would be fed and fed the most wonderful food as we spent time catching up with the Leahy clan. I remember so vividly, that my sister Judy and I, in spite of the loving environment of Mom and Pop Leahy’s home, would silently count the minutes until we could go back “down the road”.
I was always in awe of these people down the road who seemed to be so connected to each other. I must have been a pest during these summer vacations. I simply could not get enough of the feeling that came with walking, unannounced, into the home of any branch of the Wright Family of Larksville, and being treated like I was Shirley Temple herself. It was heavenly and I became quickly spoiled. I was unrestricted and would move from Aunt Peg’s to Aunt Rhea’s to Aunt Fidel’s to both Aunt Helen’s, to Aunt Mary’s, to Aunt Vern’s……house to house I would go picking up nothing but the love of family and storing it all in my little heart. Again, I bet I was a pest.
Judy and I loved our time with our same-age girl cousins, Peggy Ann, Jannie, Nancy, Kathy, Patty, Mary and Annie. Of the boys I remember Billy Yosh and sweet, smiling David Antall the most. I hero-worshipped Pat Lou, who seemed to have a soft spot for me too. She, Rhody, Nancy Kay, Mickey, Nancy Dick and Bobby Jean were the glamorous teenagers (I’m forgetting people..).
There was always a trip to Harvey’s Lake with swimming and picnics and I think Aunt Helen worked there and gave us pizza??? The most enchanting time was when all of the adults would get together and sing and drink gigantic bottles of beer…..they sang and told stories and the laughter could be heard for blocks. We kids would run around and play bingo and eat homemade suckers in that big back yard with the scary outhouses. What I remember most fondly was the look of happiness on my Father’s face. He and my Mother loved coming home.
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After spending five years in World War II, Bud Wright came back to Larksville where he planned to raise his family. He had married Rita Ruth Leahy in 1940. They met at Larksville High School and were in the same graduating class. Dad was one year older than Mom as he was held back because of sickness in first grade. There is a photograph of both my grandfathers, Pop Wright and Pop Leahy in a Larksville High School Yearbook when they served together as janitors at the school.
My brother, Michael Thomas Wright Jr., (Buddy) was born in 1941 after Dad left for the War. Dad apparently didn’t see Buddy until he was three years old. Judith Ann (Judy) was born in 1947 and I, Margaret Jane (Peggy), arrived in 1949.
Dad took a job with the Larksville Police Department and he and his family settled into an apartment on Murray St. According to my Mother, Rita, who is alive and well and living in Florida at the age of 93, the Police Department depleted their resources and just stopped paying my Father’s salary. He wasn’t able to find work anywhere. My Mother’s cousin, Billy Ayers, offered to find my Father a job in Buffalo, New York. With a heavy heart, Bud agreed to relocate.
I was three years old when we left Larksville and I remember the last day there. We were going around to say our goodbyes and a man who I remember as “Uncle Christy” gave me some Hershey’s Kisses. We left our cat, piled in a car, and said farewell to to the Larksville Family Compound.
Bud’s experience as a Policeman more than qualified him to apply for a job as a security guard at American Machine and Foundry, where Billy Ayers worked.Dad was a security guard for the rest of his working life, switching over to Trico Indusrties once AMF shut down.
We settled into life in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo. Timothy Patrick (Timmy) was born there in 1954. We attended the local Catholic School and built a life with friendships that we still have to this day. There were always money struggles so Mom took a job at Maxim’s, one of the first “super-stores” in the country. She worked in retail for the rest of her working life (a volunteer job in the kitchen of Mom and Dad’s housing complex later turned into a paid position for Rita from which she retired at the age of 83).
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Buddy lives in Florida with his wife, Christine. Buddy is retired after careers in law enforcement and politics. Chris retired from a career in hairdressing. They have two sons, Timothy and Justin. Tim is married to Christine and is the Father of two boys named Cole and Quinn. Justin is married to Elizabeth. They all live in Florida. Buddy has two children from his previous marriage. Sean lives in Buffalo, is married to Becky, and has five children named Erin, Josh, Ryan, Christopher and Mitchell. Cheryl lives in Florida with her husband, John and their three daughters named Kate, Lauren and Emma.
Judy married Stephen Lalor in 1969. Steve and Judy have worked together to build businesses including firewood sales, restaurant and bar ownership, and a heating and air conditioning service business. Their son, Jason, lives in the Buffalo area with his fiancee, Michael. They are parents to Katie, Kristie and Kameron, Mike’s children from a previous marriage. Judy and Steve’s daughter, Heather, passed away on January 23, 2010. Heather was a sweet, sensitive beauty whose passing has left holes in our hearts.
I, Peggy Jane, moved from Buffalo to Chicago, Illinois in 1971. In 1976 I married Edward LeMire. Ed and I share an office…he’s a Dentist and I’m a Psychologist. We both still work full-time and complain about it, though we would be bad retirees. We have two sons named Beau and Brody. Beau moved back to Chicago last year after having lived in Los Angeles for twelve years. Beau has a daughter, our Granddaughter, Elyanna. Brody is married to Emily and they are parents to the latest addition to our family, our Grandson, Beckett.
We lost Timmy in 1997. He suffered from Bipolar Disease and passed away after years of struggling with this terrible mental illness. Of all of the family, Timmy won hands-down, when it came to possessing the wit and humor so prominently found among the Wright’s. We miss him every day. He was married and divorced from Gail, who passed away two years ago. Gail and Tim had two children named Cheryl and Michael Thomas Wright III. Cheryl is married to Rob Deignan, and they have a four year old son named Robbie. Michael is married to Christine. Cheryl and Michael live in Florida.
Our Father, Bud Wright, passed away in 2001. He and Rita continued to attend the Wright Family Reunions in Larksville long after we stopped going as a family. I don’t think Dad ever stopped longing for home and the place where he found absolute comfort. He and Mom continued to make the trip until it became too much of a physical challenge.
Our Mother, Rita, is as stated, alive and let me tell you, very feisty and well as I write this. At 93, she remembers everything. I don’t think anyone of the Wright’s has enjoyed and appreciated the efforts of Mary Christiana’s chronicles more than Rita, who is also the only living sibling in her own family of nine.
We are a proud bunch, the Wright’s. I thank my Larksville Family for my childhood memories and for living true to the meaning of the ties that bind.
Peggy Wright LeMire
January 18, 2015