Chuck Wright (politician)
| Chuck Wright | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Topeka, Kansas | |
|
In office 1965–1969 |
|
| Preceded by | Hal Gerlach |
| Succeeded by | Gene C. Martin |
| Topeka Street Commissioner | |
|
In office 1961–1965 |
|
| Preceded by | Bill Mallory |
| Succeeded by | ? |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Charles Wesley Wright, Jr. August 17, 1919 Topeka, Kansas |
| Died | December 27, 2016 (aged 97) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Clare Wright (1944–2008; her death) |
| Children | Charles Wright III Douglas S. Wright Catherine Howard |
Charles Wesley Wright, Jr., known by Chuck Wright, (August 17, 1919 – December 27, 2016) was an American politician, former advertising executive, publisher, and Christmas tree farmer who served as the Mayor of Topeka, Kansas, from 1965 until 1969. Wright was mayor on June 8, 1966, when an EF5 tornado devastated Topeka, killing 16 people, left 4,500 residents homeless, and caused an estimated $100 million in property damage. He led the cleanup and recovery efforts in the aftermath of the tornado to rebuild the city and Washburn University.
Wright's son, Doug Wright, also served as Mayor of Topeka from 1983 to 1989.
Chuck Wright was born on August 17, 1919, at Christ's Hospital (present-day Stormont Vail Health) as one of three children of Charles W. and Mary Kanode Wright. His mother was a public health nurse, while his father had been employed in the passenger department of the Santa Fe Railway.
Wright graduated from Topeka High School in 1937 and received his bachelor's degree in 1941 from the University of Kansas. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1941 following the country's entry into World War II and trained at the Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois. He served as a naval hospital corpsman in the Pacific theater. He retired with the rank of Captain after the war and married his wife, the former Alice Clare Brownfield, at a ceremony on September 2, 1944, in Washington, D.C. The couple had three children, Charles, Douglas and Catherine.
Following the end of the war, Wright returned to Kansas where he initially took a job with the Kansas Industrial Development Commission. He was then hired for an advertising and public relations position at Standard Oil of Indiana. Wright then worked as an assistant advertising manager for a Chicago-based company from 1951 until 1954. He moved back to Kansas to partner with his cousin, Duane Patterson, to form the Patterson-Wright Advertising Agency; their partnership ended in 1960.
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