Edwin Edsel (Eddie) Wright, Jr.: Deerfield Beach, Fla.

    Edwin Edsel (Eddie) Wright, Jr. of Deerfield Beach, Florida,  passed away June 14. He was 65.
    Born in New Hanover County, he was the son of Sarah Lewis Wright of Tabor City and the late Edwin Edsel Wright, Sr.
    Mr. Wright grew up in Tabor City, and was a 1968 graduate of  Tabor City High School. He attended N.C. State University where he received his Bachelor’s degree in political science in 1973. While at State, Eddie played on the freshman basketball team and then spent the next four years as manager for the varsity team. He spent his career as a firefighter for the city of Pompano Beach, Florida. An avid swimmer, Eddie spent many days lifeguarding on the shores of Pompano, Boca Raton, and Deerfield beaches in South Florida. Camp Rockmont, in Black Mountain, North Carolina was his favorite summer destination for most of his life. He enjoyed working with the white water rafting program most of all.
     Eddie was preceded in death by his father, Edwin Edsel Wright Sr. (Ed), and a sister Ann Elizabeth Wright.
     Left to cherish his memory is his mother, Sarah Lewis Wright of Tabor City; two sisters, Cathy Wright Jones and husband Bobby and Jane Wright Harrelson, all of Tabor City; one brother, Lewis Wright of Lenoir, North Carolina; nieces, Abbey Jones Townsend and husband Nick of Morrisville, North Carolina, Colby Wright Hall and husband Jacob of Fredericksburg Virginia; nephews, Samuel Canon Wright and wife Alexis of Pensacola, Florida, and John Gladstone Jones IV from Raleigh, North Carolina.
    Eddie was looking forward to meeting the newest member of his family, seven month old Hadley Catherine Townsend, daughter of Nick and Abbey. Eddie enjoyed his many extended family members and friends from near and far, as family and friends were his greatest treasures.
    A Celebration of Life service was planned for 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 27 at Tabor City Baptist Church, 104 Live Oak Street in Tabor City.