Gregory Wright

Gregory Lee Wright passed away on August 23, 2019 after his two year fight with Cancer.  Greg was born in Denver, Colorado on March 6, 1960.  He was the oldest of six children.  His family moved west, to the mountains of Evergreen, Colorado when he was 12 years old.  He worked in the pineapple fields of Lanai, Hawaii for Dole Pineapple during the summers when he was 16 and 17 years old. He always loved to work.  He had many jobs including fast food cook, forklift driver, construction worker, delivering newspapers, and cutting, splitting, and delivering firewood.  The only jobs he disliked involved sales.

Greg served a mission in Chile for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints from age 19 to 21.  He decided to become a pilot after a miraculous answer to prayer during his mission.  He completed his formal education at BYU with a degree in Business.  Over the years he has taken about 35 additional courses covering many subjects, his favorites being physics and astronomy.

In his first semester at BYU, he met his beautiful wife Colene, and figured out in just 20 dates in 21 days that he wanted to marry her!  After graduation he was hired by United Airlines at age 25 and moved his young family to the Chicago area where they lived for the next 30 years.

Greg loved to talk about aviation with no provocation whatsoever!  His favorite joke he ever heard was, “How can you tell when you’re on a date with a pilot?  After an hour, he says, Well, that’s enough about me.  Let’s talk about airplanes!”  He loves anything to do with aviation and holds licenses to fly and instruct in both airplanes and helicopters.  He also has flown gliders, paragliders, weight-shift category, and autogyros.  He has flown over 100 different aircraft, including the Boeing 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 787, and the Airbus A-320.  He was a captain on all those except the 727.  He loved to fly and teach aerobatics.  He volunteered quarterly for many years to teach others about aviation at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago and even appears in the movie shown about the United Boeing 727 at the museum. After 9/11 he served for 14 years as an FFDO and was proud to provide one more layer of safety between his passengers and any terrorists who would do them harm.

Greg enjoyed serving in many positions at church, his favorites involving teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He loved to hike in the mountains and has climbed Lone Peak (11,253 feet) four times.  His favorite hiking buddy was Colene.  He also loved sailing, all types of music, keeping an immaculate yard, and driving fast (for which he has an impressive list of tickets) in cars, motorcycles, and even boats!

Greg and Colene are the parents of six wonderful children whom they love very much (three boys and three girls).  One of Greg’s greatest joys was listening to all his children play the piano.  All of Greg and Colene’s children moved west over time, and when their youngest son graduated high school, Greg and Colene moved to Salt Lake City to be closer to family.

Greg was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at age 57, he died at age 59.

Greg is survived by his wife Colene, and his children Christopher, Amy, Laura, Kimberly, Jordan and Wesley, and 11 adorable grandchildren.  He is also survived by his siblings Kristine, Sharon, Mark, and Michael.  His parents Raymond and Bonnie predeceased him, as well as his younger brother Matthew.

Greg will surely miss his family, but he has been excited to die from the moment his doctor told him about his terminal cancer.  That may seem weird, but he hopes to soon be sitting at the feet of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein as well as preaching the gospel in the Spirit World!

Funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 31, 2019  at the Mount Jordan 2nd Ward Chapel, 9331 South 300 East. Sandy, Utah Friends may visit with the family at the Mount Jordan 2nd Ward Chapel, 9331 South 300 East. Sandy, Utah. Friday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. And again Saturday morning 9:30 – 10:45 a.m. Interment will follow in Larkin Sunset Gardens Cemetery in Sandy, Utah.

Memorial Contributions may be made in Greg's name to humanitarian aid fund at https://ldspay,ldschurch.org/donations/church/humanitarian-service/humanitarian-aid-fund?cde2=475-home