David Clarence Wright, 73, a community leader and former owner of Sterling Faucet and executive with United States Gypsum Co., died Wednesday, Sept. 26, in his Naperville home.
Whether it was spearheading a committee to create a local animal shelter, or reviving a failing business, Mr. Wright never backed away from a challenge.
“My father was above all a reflective man who lived life with a very positive attitude and approach,” said his son, David. “He took great joy in going about the business of making good things happen.”
Born on a farm near Princeton, Ky., Mr. Wright graduated from Cobb High School in 1946. He spent two years in stateside military training units, and upon his discharge worked as an administrative aid for various veteran hospitals in Kentucky and Indiana.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University, he got a master’s degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. Later, he graduated from the Executive Development Program at Northwestern University.
Mr. Wright’s first job after college was as an analyst for U.S. Steel Corp.’s commercial research division in Pittsburgh, and as an assistant manager of the company’s commercial research division in Birmingham, Ala. He then went to work for United Delco Division of General Motors Corp. in Detroit, as the assistant director of marketing development. In 1961, he left GM to become the director of marketing research for United States Gypsum, now known as USG, later being promoted to vice president of corporate development for USG, in charge of planning and requisition.
In 1978, Mr. Wright left USG with a friend and fellow vice president to buy Sterling Faucet Co., the struggling faucet and valve division of Rockwell International with plants in West Virginia and Arkansas. After reviving the organization, they sold it to the Kohler Co. of Kohler, Wis., in 1985.
“What he did for Sterling was no small feat,” Wright said. “It was an uphill battle all the way, and to make matters worse it was during a bad recession. He pulled that company up from its bootstraps, and in the process, kept a lot of people employed.”
A Naperville resident since 1962, Mr. Wright was very proud of his community. As a former member of the Naperville Riverwalk Commission, he worked with the planning and development of the downtown area and was part of a committee that financed and built the Naperville Humane Society Shelter. He was also an avid gardener with the National Garden Clubs.
Prior to his retirement in 1990, Mr. Wright was a former director of Union Special Corp. and a former co-owner of Expert Corp. in Chicago. He was also a former member of the Economic Councils of the Chicago Federal Reserve Board and the National Association of Homebuilders, and the Chicago Club.
“My father was not only a successful businessman, but a very pleasant man to be around,” his son said. “His real success came from his intangible traits, the ones that made him an extraordinary husband and father. He was loving, easygoing, gregarious, and without a doubt, the most generous man I’ve ever known. He was decent in every way.”
Other survivors include his wife, Mary Ann; two additional sons, Robert and Jeffery; a brother, Dempsey; and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday in Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Home, 117 W. Van Buren St., Naperville. Services will be at 10 a.m. Monday in the funeral home.
