Joe Baker Wright

On October 17, 2023, LDCR Joe Baker Wright transitioned in the early morning hours after battling Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Born on September 6, 1936, to Baker Knox Wright and Josephine Adele Dubose Wright, in Austin, TX, he had just celebrated his 87th year around the sun.

Joe graduated as an honor student from Bellville High School in 1954, where he had also lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and tennis—sports that would remain lifelong passions. After attending Lamar Tech in Beaumont on a football scholarship for a year, he received an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

Joe always claimed that the most important day of his life was June 3, 1959. On that day, he graduated from the Naval Academy, received his commission as an officer in the US Navy, and married the love of his life, Peggy Ann Keer. Their great adventure together, which would take them to every far-flung region in the world over the next 64 years, began in Athens, GA, where Joe attended the US Naval Supply Corps School. Upon completion, he reported to the USS Robinson (DD-562) as the officer in charge of making sure people received their paychecks and good meals, and the ship had the equipment and repair parts it needed. His daughter Mayanne was born in the Robinson’s home port of Charleston, SC on October 12, 1960.

From 1961 to 1964, Joe served as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he acquired a taste for coffee with chicory, beignets, and gourmet dinners at Commander’s Palace that would require a yearly sojourn to that great, port city throughout his life. His favorite tour of duty (1964–1966), at the Naval Ship Repair Facility, Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines, came next. Just after shipping out he became a father again. His daughter Charlotte was born on July 15, 1964. Long and hard work hours followed. But he loved his job and how much he was learning. He also loved life among the tropical landscapes, congenial friends, and the hardworking people of the Philippines. After a commendation and buying a household of brass tables and rattan furniture, Joe moved with his family to Newport, R.I., where he served as Inspections and Services Officer with the Atlantic Fleet (1966–1968). His next assignment was as the Commissioning Supply Officer on the USS Albany (CG-10) in Boston, MS (1968–1970). He then attended the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey, CA where he received a degree in Operation Research and Systems Analysis (1970–1971). From 1971 to 1976, Joe served as Officer in-Charge of the Supply Operations Assistance Program Team in Long Beach and San Diego, CA. During this tour, Joe advised the Brazilian Navy, troubleshot issues on Diego Garcia, and spent six months in Antarctica solving supply challenges.

He also discovered the joys of camping with his family, played a lot of tennis with Peggy and their friends, and supported his daughters’ artistic and sports activities. Joe retired from the Navy in 1981, after serving in Pascagoula, MS as the Supply Officer in charge of building Spruance Class Destroyers.

In 1982, Joe and Peggy returned to Austin, TX where they embarked on a second life living in his grandfather’s home on Wright Street. Joe followed in his father’s footsteps and dedicated the next 19 years to education, as a math teacher, football and baseball coach, and administrator. Joe believed in the power of learning. He believed a good education opened doors to a bright future and fostered equality, tolerance, and understanding. His years in the Navy had also taught him just how much one can learn and experience through travel and working with a variety of people. He encouraged curiosity in his daughters and told them to always seek out those who were different from them so they might grow and better understand the world. Joe believed in his wife and daughters, and in women in general. He particularly enjoyed voting a straight female ticket. Most of all, he loved his girls. Joe never failed to give all three of them a card on Valentine’s Day, each with a message tailored just for her.

Joe and Peggy began their last journey at Blue Skies in 2016.

Joe is survived by his wife Peggy, his daughters Mayanne and Charlotte, his brother and best friend Jim and his wife Becky, and his nieces Heather and Laura.