William was one of three children born to Wm. Edwin, Sr., and Estella Viola Gantz Wright. He spent his youth in Pennsylvania, where his father was a telegrapher.
He met a pretty brown-eyed girl, Dorothy Elizabeth Smith, and they married very young--he was 16, she was 17 in 1922.
In 1930 they moved to California, and became parents of one child, daughter Marilyn Marie Wright. They divorced soon afterward, and Dorothy moved back to Pennsylvania to pursue a career in singing on the radio.
William remarried (briefly) to a lady named Florence. Then in 1937, he married a wonderful woman, Mabel Lewis. Mabel helped him raise his daughter, Marilyn along with her own daughter.
Sadly, in 1951, at the age of 47, William died in his sleep of a brain hemorrhage. Mabel continued to nurture his daughter and her daughter.
William was an avid swimmer who could dive into the surf and swim for hours without rest! He loved animals, and had an extraordinary musical gift. He could hear a song for the first time, and then pick up just about any instrument (fiddle, piano, trumpet) and play the song without a hitch! He never learned to read music.
William was also a Mason, becoming "Worshipful Master" in 1947 in Anaheim, California.
He met a pretty brown-eyed girl, Dorothy Elizabeth Smith, and they married very young--he was 16, she was 17 in 1922.
In 1930 they moved to California, and became parents of one child, daughter Marilyn Marie Wright. They divorced soon afterward, and Dorothy moved back to Pennsylvania to pursue a career in singing on the radio.
William remarried (briefly) to a lady named Florence. Then in 1937, he married a wonderful woman, Mabel Lewis. Mabel helped him raise his daughter, Marilyn along with her own daughter.
Sadly, in 1951, at the age of 47, William died in his sleep of a brain hemorrhage. Mabel continued to nurture his daughter and her daughter.
William was an avid swimmer who could dive into the surf and swim for hours without rest! He loved animals, and had an extraordinary musical gift. He could hear a song for the first time, and then pick up just about any instrument (fiddle, piano, trumpet) and play the song without a hitch! He never learned to read music.
William was also a Mason, becoming "Worshipful Master" in 1947 in Anaheim, California.
William was one of three children born to Wm. Edwin, Sr., and Estella Viola Gantz Wright. He spent his youth in Pennsylvania, where his father was a telegrapher.
He met a pretty brown-eyed girl, Dorothy Elizabeth Smith, and they married very young--he was 16, she was 17 in 1922.
In 1930 they moved to California, and became parents of one child, daughter Marilyn Marie Wright. They divorced soon afterward, and Dorothy moved back to Pennsylvania to pursue a career in singing on the radio.
William remarried (briefly) to a lady named Florence. Then in 1937, he married a wonderful woman, Mabel Lewis. Mabel helped him raise his daughter, Marilyn along with her own daughter.
Sadly, in 1951, at the age of 47, William died in his sleep of a brain hemorrhage. Mabel continued to nurture his daughter and her daughter.
William was an avid swimmer who could dive into the surf and swim for hours without rest! He loved animals, and had an extraordinary musical gift. He could hear a song for the first time, and then pick up just about any instrument (fiddle, piano, trumpet) and play the song without a hitch! He never learned to read music.
William was also a Mason, becoming "Worshipful Master" in 1947 in Anaheim, California.
He met a pretty brown-eyed girl, Dorothy Elizabeth Smith, and they married very young--he was 16, she was 17 in 1922.
In 1930 they moved to California, and became parents of one child, daughter Marilyn Marie Wright. They divorced soon afterward, and Dorothy moved back to Pennsylvania to pursue a career in singing on the radio.
William remarried (briefly) to a lady named Florence. Then in 1937, he married a wonderful woman, Mabel Lewis. Mabel helped him raise his daughter, Marilyn along with her own daughter.
Sadly, in 1951, at the age of 47, William died in his sleep of a brain hemorrhage. Mabel continued to nurture his daughter and her daughter.
William was an avid swimmer who could dive into the surf and swim for hours without rest! He loved animals, and had an extraordinary musical gift. He could hear a song for the first time, and then pick up just about any instrument (fiddle, piano, trumpet) and play the song without a hitch! He never learned to read music.
William was also a Mason, becoming "Worshipful Master" in 1947 in Anaheim, California.
