Georgia Wright's Father Passes Away

Just received word yesterday that Georgia Wright's father passed away on Tuesday, July 7, 2010. Some of you may remember Kenner Plumbing from our younger days. Mr. Kenner passed away a number of years ago, and Mr. Wright married his widow. I often saw them in church. The Kenners had two boys, Marty and Brian. Marty was two years behind us in school (some of us had siblings in that class, also), and Brian was a little younger yet. Marty went to Dartmouth, and returned to Brookings to teach Middle School science in 1975. I got to know him quite well during that time, as we were just down the hall from each other for many of those years. He then went to the Twin Cities area in 1983(?), where, I think, he made a little bit more than he did teaching. Our thoughts, condolences, and prayers go out to Georgia, her brother Jim and sister Barb, Marty, and Brian at this difficult time.

Kenneth M. Wright age 92, of Brookings, South Dakota., died Wednesday, July 7, 2010, at Brookview Manor in Brookings. Funeral services will be 10:30 A.M. Saturday, July 10, 2010, at Ascension Lutheran Church of Brookings, with interment in the St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery in Humboldt, South Dakota. Visitations will be from 4-7 P.M. Friday at Eidsness Funeral Home in Brookings. Ken’s family requests that memorials be directed to Ascension Lutheran Church.Kenneth Milton Wright was born on February 10, 1918, in Elliot, Iowa, to Gail and Blanche Wright. He grew up in Elliot and graduated from Elliot High School. In 1939 he moved to Humboldt, South Dakota, to work at Tuthill Lumber Yard, prior to entering the army. On October 8, 1942 he married Dorothy Bunning in Humboldt. Ken was stationed in Portland, Oregon, and Okinawa, Japan.After World War II, Ken and Dorothy returned to South Dakota, where Ken worked in lumber yards and in the construction industry in Sioux Falls, Gregory, Lennox, and Clark, South Dakota. In 1960 the family moved to Brookings, where Ken built houses for Oliver Gottschalk. In his retirement, Ken and Dorothy owned and operated Ballons Because from 1983 to 1988. Also during this time, Ken started the Wright Locksmith business. He was Journeyman Electrician, as well as a masterful carpenter.Dorothy died July 22, 1996. November 8, 1997, Kenneth married Audrey (Welsh) Kenner. Ken was a charter member of Ascension Lutheran Church and a Lifetime Member of the VFW.Ken is survived by his wife, Audrey of Brookings; two daughters, Barbara (Darwin) Egeberg of Madison, South Dakota, and Georgia (Bill Kopp) Wright of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; a son, Jim (Nancy) Wright of Sioux Falls, South Dakota; five grandchildren: Chad and Eric Egeberg, Colin and Jason Kopp, and Lauren Wright; two stepsons: Marty (Pam) of Burnsville, Minnesota, and Brian of Philip, South Dakota; two step grandchildren; Abbi (Cory) Koscielski, and Patrick Kenner; a sister, Katherine Slater; a sister-in-law, Ollie Wright; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Dorothy; his parents, Gail and Blanche Wright; two brothers, Donald and Jack; three grandchildren, Dane and Johannah Wright in 2005, and infant, Sean Kopp in 1987; and a nephew, Dennis Slater in 2010.