Melville Joseph Wright

Pocatello- Melville Joseph Wright, age 87, of Pocatello, passed away on Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello.

Melville was the second oldest of a family of 10 children. He was born February 10, 1925, in Idaho Falls, the son of Hiram Melville Wright and Lillian Amelia Rodgers Wright.

Melville attended Sage Creek High School in Idaho Falls and Firth High School in Firth. He grew up and worked on a farm in Springfield.Idaho.

He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Shortly after returning home from war, he met his everlasting partner, Mina Moffat, in Blackfoot. They were married in Dillon Montana on December 1, 1946.

He then became a Sheet Metal Worker in 1948. They were blessed with their first daughter Bertha Ann Chapman in 1953. The family purchased a home on Hawthorne Road in 1963, where they were blessed with a second daughter Teresa Ann Bowlin. In 1989, he retired from the Sheet Metal Union and became a Security Guard at Kraft, FMC, St. Anthony Place until 1991.

He enjoyed spending time with his family, hunting, fishing, gardening, playing pinochle, and riding horses. He also raised Arabian Horses on Hawthorne Road. His family has many great memories of all the time they spent with him and all the love they all shared. He was a great man and will be missed dearly by friends and family.

Melville is survived by his two daughters, Bertha Chapman and Teresa Bowlin of Pocatello; two brothers, George Wright and Roger (Lisa) Wright of Weiser Idaho; four sisters, Maxine Casper of Renton Washington, Naomi Hoskins of Blackfoot, Elaine (Lonnie) Chavez of California, Joy (Walter) Reed of Osborne Idaho; three grandchildren, Rachelle Heritage, Richard Bowlin, and April Weiss; one great grandson, Dabriam.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mina Wright; his parents, Hiram Melville Wright and Lillian Amelia Rodgers Wright; three sisters, Alice Wright, Mary Ostrander, and Verda Wright; son-in-law, Robert Chapman.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 12 noon at Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel, 510 N. 12th Ave. The family will receive friends on Friday evening from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel and on Saturday one hour prior to services.

Interment will be in the Grove City Cemetery, Blackfoot, Idaho with miltary rites provided by the American Legion Stewart Hoover, Post #23.

Funeral arrangments are under the care of Manning-Wheatley Funeral Chapel.