Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

August 5, 2026

Malcolm George Wright was born in Mineola, New York on September 10, 1937.  His parents, Alfred Henry and Violet Wright, were both British, something he found to be particularly special.  He was proud to be able to claim he was a first-generation American.

His father, born in Yarmouth, England, spent much of his youth in a church home for boys, following the illness of his mother that took her out of their home.  Alfred’s deliverance from his unfortunate childhood, about which he said practically nothing, came with the outbreak of WWI.   Once his service in the Royal Army was over and the global conflict had concluded, he made his escape to America.  With a name like Alfred Henry and an English accent besides, he easily found employment as a footman on the estate of Childs Frick in Roslyn, Long Island.

About the same time, his mother emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to the New World and found work as a lady’s maid in the Grace country home, located nearby in Manhasset.  The “in service” experience of his parentsmade a profound impression on Malcolm, and he consequently always revered hard work, befriending and championing all who engaged in it.

Malcolm spoke glowingly of his childhood years, which he spent entirely on the North Shore of Long Island.  It was there that at age 12, in confirmation class, he first laid eyes on Barbara, whom, four years later hebegan dating and ultimately married in 1960.

Malcolm’s natural aptitude for making things, coupled with his innate curiosity regarding how things work, led him to Tufts University in 1955,where he began studies in Mechanical Engineering.  He completed his degree in 1959 and, having been involved with NROTC while he studied, he joined the Navy immediately upon graduation.

He shipped out aboard the aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Essex, home-ported in Rhode Island. Just as the Navy advertises, he literally “saw the world”during his military service.  He collected a lifetime’s worth of stories, which he loved to relate to willing listeners.

From the Navy, he went immediately into graduate school at the Wharton School, from which he received his MBA in 1963.  His daughter Christine was born during the time he was at Wharton.  Once he had completed his studies in Philadelphia, the growing family headed to Albion, Michigan to a job for Malcolm as a process engineer with Corning Glass Works.  It was during his two years in Albion that his son, Andrew, was born.  Having worked 22 months around glass production prototype robotics, and having dodged more than his share of airborne, projectile television tubes, he’d had enough of process engineering.  He decided instead to change his type of employment entirely.  He joined the finance department of Merck and Company, and moved back to the East Coast.  After 5 years of living in Bucks County, PA, a move to New Jersey took the family to a home just outside Oldwick, where they lived for 33 years.

Malcolm’s career with Merck lasted 28 years.  Once he had retired, with Christine and Andrew out of school and also out of the house, he decided it was time for him to indulge his personal interests.  He was a tireless worker.  From dawn to dusk he could be found cutting down trees, chopping wood, planting seedlings, installing a roof window or random plank flooring, fixing a leaky pipe--the list was endless.  He loved almost anything that involved woodworking.  He recaned chair seats, repaired and rebuilt furniture--even made some—refinished everything in sight, and with not too much help, renovated the Cape Cod cottage that was built in 1897 by Barbara’s great-grandfather.  Nothing was too big a challenge for him to tackle.  On the rare occasions when he had put down his shovel,saw, paintbrush or whatever, he’d grab a book about British history and pour over that, or spend time crunching numbers related to family finances.

Due to his engineering background, he was forever envisioning how some change in his home could make a space more efficiently utilized.  If what he had in mind required heavy structural work after he’d designed it on paper, he’d reluctantly call in a contractor and then become that poor fellow’s “helper” on the project.

He loved to swim and sail during the warm weather.  In the cooler months he’d put on his skis.  He was an avid skier and could speak authoritatively on the relative merits of just about every major ski area in the lower 48.

Barbara finally convinced him in 2003 to give up the care of the NJ property and move to Charlotte.  His two granddaughters, Clare and Anna, had both been born shortly before then.  Christy, her husband, Tim, and their girls were all in Charlotte.  Somewhat hesitantly he agreed to move south to a home that required much less care and hard work.

By 2019, at 82 years old, Malcolm gave the nod to a move to a retirement community, The Cypress of Charlotte.  Maintaining two properties had gotten to be too much work even for him.  At The Cypress, if not knownto the entire membership by name, he was recognized by virtually all as“that guy in the baseball cap who is out there walking every day,” or as “the resident who stops to talk to all the landscapers and maintenance workers.”

On August 5, 2026, Malcolm Wright quietly transitioned from this life to the next.  A husband, a father, a grandfather, and, as he, himself would add, “a hard-worker,” Malcolm is missed already and will continue to beso for a long, long time to come.  He was predeceased by his parents and his only sibling, an older sister, Sheila.

His family wishes to express its heartfelt appreciation to all the staff members of the Stewart Center at The Cypress, who not only lovinglywatched over and cared for Malcolm during his final two years of life, but also supported everyone related to him.

For anyone who is so inclined, memorial donations can be made to Tunnelto Towers online by going to T2T.org and checking the box to “dedicate the donation in memory of . . .”

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral and Cremation Service, 1321 Berkley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.