Vivian F. (Miller) Wright

Vivian F. Wright, age 92, died at 6 a.m. on December 31, 2018, at White Hall Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

She was born on December 11, 1926, near Fidelity to Rabb and Stella Miller. She graduated from Greenfield High School in 1944. After graduation, she then joined the war effort by working as a bookkeeper at Laclede Steel Mill in Alton, becoming a “Rosie the Riveter” with a pencil. She was later employed as a bookkeeper for several businesses in the Greenfield area over a 25 year span.

She married Richard Wright of Wrights on December 28, 1948, in Alton, and together they raised their children on the family farm and shared 65 years together before his death in 2014.

Surviving are two children and their spouses, Pamela (Greg DiBlasi) Wright of St. Louis, MO, and Andrew (Glenna) Wright of Wrights; two grandsons, Kevin (Amiee) and Scot (Mary) Wright and three great-grandchildren, Michael, Elizabeth and Emma Wright, all of Greenfield. Vivian is also survived by her brother, Richard (Earlene) Miller of Jerseyville, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and good friends, all of whom shared and enjoyed a life of laughter and love with her.

Vivian was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two-year-old brother, Warren and the following siblings and spouses: Robert (Hazel) Miller; Charles (Bertha) Miller; Emma Lou (Les) Sullivan and foster sister, Lula (Don) Parish.

It was on the modest family farm near Medora that she learned hard work, family loyalty, putting others first and faith, traits which she perfected throughout her life. She was an active member of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Wrights until it ceased to exist in 2014. Vivian was also a community volunteer: long-time Red Cross blood donor; Greenfield food pantry volunteer; organizer of Zip Code Day in Wrights; and originator of an annual trivia night in Greenfield in 2000 which has raised, and continues to raise, funds for the benefit of local cancer patients.

Visitation will be on Saturday, January 5, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. until time of the funeral at 10:30 a.m., both to be held at First Baptist Church of Greenfield, north of Greenfield on Highway 267. Burial will follow at Hickory Grove Cemetery near Wrights. Memorials in lieu of flowers are suggested to Activities Department at White Hall Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, 620 W. Bridgeport Street, White Hall, IL 62092 or BJC Hospice, 330 5th Street, Carrollton, IL 62016. Shields-Bishop funeral home is in charge of arrangements and online condolences can be left at shieldsbishopfh.com.

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