*Donald J. Wright, of Forest Lake, Minn., died in his home on Dec. 8, 2014 at the age of 70, just hours before his mother’s passing in Fremont, Neb.

Don Wright was born on Aug. 13, 1944 in Fremont to parents Donald H. Wright and Eva M. Wright. He lived with his family in Ames until moving to Fremont in 1953. In 1962 Wright graduated from Fremont High School, where he excelled in football and track. After high school, he attended Midland Lutheran College for a year before transferring to St. Olaf College. He completed the ROTC program at St. Olaf and upon graduating in 1966 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Wright went through pilot training at Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock, Texas from 1966 through 1968 and served in Vietnam from January 1968 until January 1969. He married his first wife, Linda Jenkins, and the couple’s only child, a daughter, was born in 1970. The couple divorced in 1980.

Wright’s illustrious military career continued at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb., where he was stationed from 1969 through 1971. From there he transferred to Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1975, he was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base and piloted dignitaries from around the world, flying to over 90 different countries. During George H. W. Bush’s tenure as vice president, Wright frequently flew Air Force Two and also served as a backup pilot for Air Force One.

In the 1970s, Wright was the mission commander and chief pilot of the first United States military plane allowed to land in Mainland China since World War II. During his time in Alaska, Wright was a standardization board chief pilot responsible for certifying pilots flying the RC-135. In 1980, Wright was the mission commander for the United States Air Force involved in transporting the Iran hostages from Europe to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

In 1982, Wright married his second wife, Robin Latenser of Omaha. Upon retiring from the Air Force as a major in 1986, Don Wright flew commercially into the early 2000s for Presidential Airlines and Sun Country Airlines. He retired in Forest Lake.

Around 2012, Wright became the driving force in resurrecting and rehabilitating The Dr. Darleen Ritter and Skip Anderson Class of 1962 Memorial Scholarship Fund, which was founded by longtime Fremont resident and civic leader James Ebers. The fund supports education by benefitting students from his alma mater, Fremont High School.

Donald J. Wright is survived by his daughter, Lesa Wright McHale and her her husband, Greg; grandchildren, Cavan and Lulu; and his sole sibling, sister JoAnne Wright Malmgren ‘68 and her husband, Dick Malmgren.

Memorial donations can be made to The Dr. Darleen Ritter and Skip Anderson Class of 1962 Memorial Scholarship Fund at The Fremont Area Community Foundation.