James Clower Wright September 24, 1934 – February 19, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers View/Sign Guest Book| Send Private Condolences| Send Sympathy Card SPARTANBURG SC James C. Wright “Jim,” 84, died Tuesday, February 19, 2019. Jim was the youngest son of the late Ella Mae Young Wright and Robert Douglas Wright, Jim grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where his widowed mother was his strongest influence. He studied architecture at the University of Arkansas, and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity and the Razorback Marching Band.
In 1954 he entered the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated June 5th. 1958. The day after graduation, Jim married Barbara Falkenbury in the Naval Academy Chapel.
They moved to Norfolk, VA where Jim promptly reported to his first ship, the USS Freemont in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1959 he entered the Submarine School at New London, CT and then reported for duty in Charleston, SC first on the USS Clamagore and USS Trout. He subsequently left the Submarine Force and reported to the USS Oklahoma City as Navigator in 1968.
He took the ship to Yokosuka, Japan where it assumed duties as the Flagship for the Commander, US Seventh Fleet. In 1970, Jim was assigned duty as the Polaris/ Poseidon Repair Officer in the office of the Strategic Systems Project Office, Washington, DC collaborating with the Royal Navy as the US Navy Representative at the Applied Physics Laboratory/ Johns Hopkins University. Retiring from the Navy in 1978, Jim had earned commendation medals for his service in Lebanon, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam.
In 1974, Jim earned a M.A. in International Relations from the University of Maryland and in 1978 a M.S. in Financial Management from George Washington University. After the Navy, he joined EG&G Washington Analytical Services Company as an Engineer with the Trident Command and Control System Maintenance Activity in Newport, RI. After 11 years with EG&G, Jim joined the Raytheon Service Company assisting in the installation of the US Submarine Combat Control System in the submarine fleet and shore based training sites.
After 24 years he retired from Raytheon in 2013. Jim is survived by his wife of 61 years, Barbara Falkenbury “Bobbi,” his daughter Martha Chapman “Muffet” and her husband Norman, and two wonderful granddaughters, Martha of Stanford, CT and Catherine of Spartanburg. A service will be held Monday, February 25th at 4:00PM at the Episcopal Church of the Advent, 141 Advent Street Spartanburg, SC with the Reverend Edward Morris officiating.
His ashes will be interred in the family plot in Bobbi’s hometown of Glens Falls, NY. A reception will follow at the Parish and Community Life Center following the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: The 1958 Larson Award Endowment.
P.O. Box 79169 Baltimore, MD 21279 Attn: USNA Foundation.
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