Marjorie Wright

Marjorie E. Wright '54 died in an automobile accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, September 16, 1959. She had been in Wheaton visiting her parents, Dr. '26 and Mrs. Paul M. Wright '33, and was returning for her second year of teaching at Hood College, Frederick, MD, when the accident occurred. According to police, Marjorie lost control of her car after passing two large trucks and crashed into an oncoming auto. It is conjectured that a strong wind could have pushed her Renault Dauphine onto the dirt-surfaced median strip, where the drag on the wheels could have been sufficient to force the car into the other lane. Funeral services were held September 19 at the Wheaton Bible Church, where Marjorie was a member. Officiating were the Revered Malcolm Cronk and Dr. J.C. Macauley. Burial was at Chapel Hill Gardens, Elmhurst. Born October 18, 1932, Marjorie attended the Wheaton Christian Grammar School and Wheaton Academy, where she was named to membership in the National Honor Society. She was graduated with highest honors from the College, where she was elected to the Scholastic Honor Society, served as president of the Aelioian Literary Society and contributed to Kodon. She also helped edit the Bible Church news magazine. Marjorie held a Master of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois and had completed the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, pending final typing and oral defense of her dissertation. While at the university, she was awarded one of its most distinguished fellowships. Dr. A. Dwight Culler, her advisor at Illinois, wrote concerning Marjorie: "She had the finest mind and the finest prose style of any student in the University...I know should would have written many, many things people would have prized and loved." Besides her parents, Marjorie left in Wheaton two brothers, Eugene and Roger, and her paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J.B. Wright. A memorial was established in her memory, to which her friends were invited to contribute. It was used toward research in English literature.