In memoriam: student P.J. Wright, 1976 - 2012

Western Washington University student Paul Joseph Wright was born May 6, 1976, in the Year of the Dragon and passed into the hands of Our Lord on Feb. 14, 2012, also in the Year of the Dragon. Inquisitive and imaginative, his kind and generous soul, deeply loving and sincerely caring heart and warm and welcoming smile will be greatly missed by his Mom, Ana Luz Rios-Arriola; his older sister and her husband, Gina and Richard Shiroyama; his younger sister and her husband, Carmel and Shawn Montgomery; his dad and his wife, Terry and Betty Wright; and so many more close family members and friends, especially his grandma Marjorie Wright; his uncle and aunt, Roy and Rose Mary Abelson; his longtime friends Darrell Griffus, Billy Boyce, Pete Lumbert, Joseph Walter, Scotty Boyd, Ryan and Trevor Farsovitch and John Nelson; and by all whose lives he touched in small and large ways.

At Western, Wright was pursuing his dream of a second career as a sports journalist; he had a talent for creating human-centered stories and photographs. He also had an innate ability to find the humor in everyday situations. Along with spending time with family and friends, his loves included many animals, such as his own cat Isidora and his uncle’s and aunt’s dogs Shaq and Kobe. Wright also so loved the subjects of history, culture and sports; he was a loyal, diehard fan of his favorite teams the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Services were held at Our Lady of Guadalupe church in West Seattle, on Saturday, Feb. 18. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in P.J.’s name to either the N.O.A.H. Animal Adoption and Spay/Neuter Center in Stanwood or to any Friends of the Library organization.