John Wright is Senior of the Month for January 2025
John Wayne Wright, 94, is a regular at Newcastle Senior Citizens Center for lunch (pork chops and catfish being two of his favorites) and games.
Born at home in Boaz, Alabama, in 1930, he grew up excited to ride his bike, drive a tractor, and then a car. He helped his dad on their farm and then helped his uncle on his farm making $4 per day before joining the United States Air Force working as an administrative assistant.
The rest of his career was working as a property tax accountant for an oil company until the age of 55. It was after the oil bust when all the “gray hairs” were offered early retirement packages.
His first car was a 1940 Ford Coupe. He bashed in the front right fender within six months, but no mistake was made when he married the twin sister of his Air Force buddy from Nebraska. Her name, Pauline Hazel Proctor. She would become John’s biggest influence and whom he would admit was the “brains” of the family.
After living in Texas and California, his job transferred him to Oklahoma in 1991. He moved to Moore first, but later settled in Newcastle. He enjoys his church (especially when he gets to volunteer), his relationship with God, his family, spending time with friends, playing his guitar, playing golf, and listening to the old-time singers like Ernest Tubb, Eddie Arnold, Jim Reeves, and their peers.
Wright said if he had it to do over again, he would have taken lessons and learned to play his own guitar better.
In the early 1950s, while in the USAF at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, he was privileged to be an “extra” during the filming of some scenes in the movie “Strategic Air Command.”
He said he would really like to take one last trip back to his hometown to see the changes and visit his younger siblings.
His greatest joy has been, and still is, seeing people come to faith and knowledge and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
His advice to the younger generation would be abstain from immorality, and after marriage be faithful to your spouse, and keep faith in God. He strives to be remembered as a Christian man who is easy to get along with.
