Kenneth H. Wright

Kenneth H. Wright, 86, died peacefully at his home in Oakland, Ore., on Jan. 25, 2014, after a short battle with cancer.

He was laid to rest at Cedar Hill Cemetery, Oakland, Ore., after a service with full military honors.

Ken was born to Harry and Jessie (Scheffer) Wright on March 14, 1927 in Valley Springs, S.D. He graduated from Valley Springs High School in 1945, having joined the Navy in his last year. He served on active duty until World War II ended, then returned home to complete his college degree at South Dakota State University.

As a young man after the war, he followed work wherever that would take him until he discovered surveying in the wilds of Alaska, where he lived and worked for more than 50 years. He married twice, first to Edna Mueller and later to Eleanor (Wolfe) Johnson, both now deceased. In September 2011, he moved to live with family in Oregon.

Ken’s family includes son, Greg Johnson of Anchorage; and two daughters, Kathleen Ramirez of Anaheim, Calif., and Deborah Ezzati of Oakland, Ore.; sister, Barbara (Helgeson) Babutzke of Plainview, Neb.; and two brothers, George Wright of Ruston, La., and Keith Wright (deceased).