Vernon Carl Wright, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away at age 82 on the morning of February 16, 2014 at the Good Samaritan Center in Mt. Carroll, Illinois after an extended illness. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, February 22, 2014, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, 1100 11th Ave North in Clinton, IA. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Carl will be interred with his beloved Carolyn at Evergreen Cemetery in Sabula, Iowa. Lemke Funeral Homes assisted the family with arrangements.
Carl was born in Dixon, Illinois on September 17, 1931 to Dola (Weems) and Jesse Earmel Wright. He grew up in Byron, Illinois and graduated from Byron High School. After graduation Carl enlisted in the United States Air Force. He was stationed in Washington, D.C. where he served as a firefighter. Carl met and married Carolyn Huebner of Clinton, Iowa, in October of 1951. They enjoyed 53 years of marriage until her death in March 2005.
Carl was a faithful and loyal husband, devoted to Carolyn. They enjoyed their family which consisted of two sons, Daniel and David, and a daughter, Sharon. Carl worked for many years at Northwestern Railroad and Allied Structural Steel in Clinton, Iowa and John Deere in Moline, Illinois. Carl had many interests. He was a member of the Clinton Auto Club maintaining and showing beautiful cars including winning awards for his 1970 black Monte Carlo. We will never forget his personal car, Firecracker, a '38 Chevrolet that he drove for many years. Carl was a member of the Savanna Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. He greatly enjoyed the outdoors, particularly gardening, hunting morel mushrooms and fishing in and around the Mississippi River.
For several years Carl and family lived and farmed on the Helfert Family Farm near Sabula, Iowa. He was mechanically inclined, an expert welder and an accomplished auto painter. Carl enjoyed working crosswords and Sudoku puzzles. In 1982 he was a contestant on the Price is Right and won many great prizes. More than anything, he loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Carl will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
In his final years Carl was aided greatly by many friends, including Gary & Laura Stephens and Kathy Stasch. He was very grateful the friends who took time to stop by to see him, sent him cards or gave him a call to brighten his day.
Survivors include his children, Daniel (Kristeen Rieck) of Salt Lake City, Utah; David (Pamela Behan) of Savanna, Illinois; Sharon (Charles Ritchie) of Folsom, California; grandchildren, Seth, Jesse, Cara, Alexander and Alyssa; great-grandchildren Brandon Lopez, Calista and Isla Wright, and four nephews.
Carl was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn, parents Earmel and Dola, brother Jesse Ralph Wright, and infant daughter Diane.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Vernon C Wright, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.