1926
Florence
2015
Florence Wright
May 6, 1926 — November 20, 2015
Florence (Bell) Wright, formerly of West Danville, VT, died peacefully at Vergennes Residential Care Home on November 20, 2015 surrounded by those who loved her. She was 89 years old.
Florence was born in Berlin, New Hampshire on May 6, 1926. She was the third of four children born to Edmund and Nellie (Keenan) Bell. Growing up during the Great Depression, she learned the value of service, sacrifice, and hard work--traits that would come to exemplify her life. After her graduation from Berlin High School in 1944, she entered the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, a program established by the Federal Government in 1943 to ensure that there would be enough nurses to care for its citizens on both the home and war fronts. She completed her training at Brightlook Hospital Training School for Nurses in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where she met her future husband, war veteran Wayland Wright. After passing her state nursing boards and becoming an R.N., they were married on November 27, 1948.
Florence became a highly respected nurse and one of the first in the state of Vermont to be certified to treat polio patients. She eventually took on the added responsibilities of floor supervisor, emergency room supervisor, and ultimately night supervisor for "the house." In an age where relatively few women, especially those who were married with children, entered the workforce, Florence somehow managed to balance caring for her growing family and advancing in her career, maneuvering the challenging hours and responsibilities of the night shift at several major regional hospitals.
Aside from her career as a nurse, Florence's life revolved around caring for her children, her disabled husband, and her ailing mother-in-law. Through it all, she managed to take classes during the day in order to stay current in medical advancements and treatments. She was twice awarded for her distinguished service in the field of nursing. Though she retired in 1988, she continued to learn and grow, earning a degree in Liberal Arts from Vermont Community College.
Florence and Wayland were married for nearly 45 years until his death in 1993. Together they raised five children--Robert, Theresa, David, Steven, and Catherine. They established a home on Joe's Pond in West Danville, Vermont in 1964 where Florence continued to live until 2004 when she sold the family home and moved into senior housing on Grand View Avenue in Danville. She was a devoted member of Queen of Peace Church. In 2013 Florence moved into the Vergennes Residential Care Home in Vergennes, Vermont to be closer to her daughter, Theresa.
Florence was predeceased by her loving husband, Wayland, and her older brother, Oliver Bell. She leaves behind her children: Robert and wife Diane of Leland, North Carolina; Theresa and husband Matthew Maynard of Charlotte, Vermont; David and wife Vera of Essex Center, Vermont; Steven and wife Celina of Barnet, Vermont; Catherine and husband Craig Hunnicutt of Gibson, Georgia; and grandchildren Sarah, Joshua, Jennifer, Megan, Ethan, Samuel, James, Hilary, Jacob, Dorn, Jeb, Katelyn, Jonathan, and Jacob. She was "Grammy the Great" to Tristan, Lydia, Emma, Samuel, Landon, Amelia, Jordan, Jaiden, and Eirene. She also leaves an older brother, Robert Bell and wife Doris of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a younger sister, Helen McCarty and husband Winston of Concord, New Hampshire, and nine nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held at the Sayles Funeral Home this Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 6-8 p.m.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in Danville on Wednesday, Nov 25, at 11 a.m. at the Our Lady Queen of Peace Church. Burial will follow at the Danville Green Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution on our mother's behalf to the Vergennes Residential Care Home Activities Fund. We are so grateful for the music, merriment, and rich creative pursuits that so enriched her life there. We wish, in her memory, to perpetuate these joyful, life-affirming activities for others.
Please make checks payable to 'VRCH Activities Fund', a�... Vergennes Residential Care Home, 34 North Street, Vergennes, VT 05491.
Memories and condolences may be shared privately at www.saylesfh.com. The Sayles Funeral Home is located at 525 Summer St. in St. Johnsbury.
Florence was born in Berlin, New Hampshire on May 6, 1926. She was the third of four children born to Edmund and Nellie (Keenan) Bell. Growing up during the Great Depression, she learned the value of service, sacrifice, and hard work--traits that would come to exemplify her life. After her graduation from Berlin High School in 1944, she entered the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, a program established by the Federal Government in 1943 to ensure that there would be enough nurses to care for its citizens on both the home and war fronts. She completed her training at Brightlook Hospital Training School for Nurses in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where she met her future husband, war veteran Wayland Wright. After passing her state nursing boards and becoming an R.N., they were married on November 27, 1948.
Florence became a highly respected nurse and one of the first in the state of Vermont to be certified to treat polio patients. She eventually took on the added responsibilities of floor supervisor, emergency room supervisor, and ultimately night supervisor for "the house." In an age where relatively few women, especially those who were married with children, entered the workforce, Florence somehow managed to balance caring for her growing family and advancing in her career, maneuvering the challenging hours and responsibilities of the night shift at several major regional hospitals.
Aside from her career as a nurse, Florence's life revolved around caring for her children, her disabled husband, and her ailing mother-in-law. Through it all, she managed to take classes during the day in order to stay current in medical advancements and treatments. She was twice awarded for her distinguished service in the field of nursing. Though she retired in 1988, she continued to learn and grow, earning a degree in Liberal Arts from Vermont Community College.
Florence and Wayland were married for nearly 45 years until his death in 1993. Together they raised five children--Robert, Theresa, David, Steven, and Catherine. They established a home on Joe's Pond in West Danville, Vermont in 1964 where Florence continued to live until 2004 when she sold the family home and moved into senior housing on Grand View Avenue in Danville. She was a devoted member of Queen of Peace Church. In 2013 Florence moved into the Vergennes Residential Care Home in Vergennes, Vermont to be closer to her daughter, Theresa.
Florence was predeceased by her loving husband, Wayland, and her older brother, Oliver Bell. She leaves behind her children: Robert and wife Diane of Leland, North Carolina; Theresa and husband Matthew Maynard of Charlotte, Vermont; David and wife Vera of Essex Center, Vermont; Steven and wife Celina of Barnet, Vermont; Catherine and husband Craig Hunnicutt of Gibson, Georgia; and grandchildren Sarah, Joshua, Jennifer, Megan, Ethan, Samuel, James, Hilary, Jacob, Dorn, Jeb, Katelyn, Jonathan, and Jacob. She was "Grammy the Great" to Tristan, Lydia, Emma, Samuel, Landon, Amelia, Jordan, Jaiden, and Eirene. She also leaves an older brother, Robert Bell and wife Doris of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, a younger sister, Helen McCarty and husband Winston of Concord, New Hampshire, and nine nieces and nephews.
Visiting hours will be held at the Sayles Funeral Home this Tuesday, Nov. 24 from 6-8 p.m.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in Danville on Wednesday, Nov 25, at 11 a.m. at the Our Lady Queen of Peace Church. Burial will follow at the Danville Green Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution on our mother's behalf to the Vergennes Residential Care Home Activities Fund. We are so grateful for the music, merriment, and rich creative pursuits that so enriched her life there. We wish, in her memory, to perpetuate these joyful, life-affirming activities for others.
Please make checks payable to 'VRCH Activities Fund', a�... Vergennes Residential Care Home, 34 North Street, Vergennes, VT 05491.
Memories and condolences may be shared privately at www.saylesfh.com. The Sayles Funeral Home is located at 525 Summer St. in St. Johnsbury.
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