Baker City, Oregon
Jewell Josephine Wright, 88, a longtime Baker City resident, died June 17, 2003, at her son’s home in Nampa, Idaho.
Her funeral will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. in Baker City, with two of her sons, Pastor Rich Wright of the Calvary Chapel in Nampa, and Rod Wright of the Calvary Baptist Church in Baker City officiating. Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery, with a reception following at the Rodeway Inn convention room. Visitations will be Friday from noon to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Gray’s West & Co.
Jewell was born Feb. 27, 1915, at Springfield to Leroy A. and Lela D. Cross Speelman. She grew up and attended school in Haines, where she rode her horse, Mable, to school. The neighbors said she rode her horse so fast they thought she would get thrown. During the winter her dad drove her, her brother, Claude, and the neighbor kids to school in a horse-drawn sleigh.
She and her brother were best of friends. They went fishing in Rock Creek once with a willow stick for a pole and a safety pin for a hook. She caught a fish and it scared her so badly she ran home, dragging it behind her.
Jewell married Lee Wright on May 23, 1931, in Baker City. They lived in Baker Valley on different ranches, and in town, during their married life. Mr. Wright died in 1988. Together they raised four sons: David, Dwayne, Rod and Rick.
Jewell gave her life to care for and to instill Christian character in her sons. She was an excellent cook and always seemed to have something in her hands to do, such as darning the boys’ socks, quilting, crocheting or embroidering. She also enjoyed crossword puzzles and putting together jigsaw puzzles. She loved to laugh, and when she got tickled she could stop laughing.
Jewell was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Baker City, where she served as deaconess and taught Sunday school. First and foremost, she loved her Lord and Savior, and her four sons and their families.
She is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law, David and Jeanie Wright of Baker City, Dwayne and Evonne Wright of Milton-Freewater, Rod and Carol Wright of Baker City, and Rick and Myrna Wright of Nampa; 17 grandchildren; 37 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Marge McAllister and Lois Moberly of Milton-Freewater; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Jewell was preceded in death by her husband, Lee; her parents and her brother.
Contributions in her memory may be made to Mercy Medical Hospice in Nampa, or Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund, in care of Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, June 20, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor