Wilford "Bill" Wright, who left an impact on friends in the Tri-Cities for 65 years and who never knew a stranger if he was close enough to pass by, died Thursday, May 16, 2013 at the home of his special family in Kennewick. He was 93 and less than three months shy of his 94th birthday. Bill was born before the early 20th Century had completed its second decade, on August 8, 1919 in the rugged countryside of Colorado where his roots spawned a friendliness and established a stubborn and independent streak, all of which would be characteristic of him for the remainder of his life. Colorado would remain forever, a place he loved and for which he never forsook his loyalty even after more than six decades living and loving life in the Tri-Cities with his beloved wife, Jean, and where their late son, Dennis, was born. He was an avid fan of University of Oklahoma Sooners in football, and became an equally avid fan of Washington State Cougar football. That became a challenge for him and Jean when the two teams met in the Rose Bowl not so many years ago. He just threw up his hands and said: "We'll just have to be happy when one does something well, and sad that the other is hurt by it." When Bill was not yet 22 years old, he met and married in Oklahoma, a young Oklahoma girl, Jean Horton, on April 21, 1941, less than three weeks after her 20th birthday. They came to Kennewick in 1948 with their young son, Dennis, and this remained home to Bill and Jean until her death on New Year's Day 2010, almost exactly 50 years to the day they lost their son, Dennis, in a tragic New Year's Eve accident in 1959 in downtown Kennewick. He was a junior at Kennewick High School and was one of its most popular students at the time. Bill, Jean and Dennis joined the Kennewick Baptist Church in 1955 and remained members for the remainder of their lives. Even during the last months and weeks of his life while battling cancer, Bill strived to attend church services until his health finally wouldn't permit it. Bill was an American soldier in the service of his country during World War II, becoming a sergeant first class whose training skills as a non-commissioned officer prompted his commanding officers to refuse letting him transfer because he was making better soldiers of others at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In the Tri-Cities, Bill left an impact working at Hanford, until one of its many cutbacks took him and others out of Hanford employment. He simply started a second career, going to work for the City of Kennewick, from which he ultimately retired. In the pre-dawn darkness, not two or three hours after midnight, Bill would climb high in his seat over a street sweeper and begin his daily duties cleaning its streets of debris and providing friendly waves to friends and acquaintances who passed by under the illumination of street lights on their way to their own early-morning jobs. All the while, Jean was becoming one of the Tri-Cities most popular grocery checkers, earning Checker of the Year honors for all the Tri-Cities in 1964. It earned her and Bill a trip to San Francisco, where they stayed at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, and a trip which Bill fondly recalled more than once through the years. Bill and Jean poured their hearts and love into helping animals who had no one else to care for them, especially kitties and kittens, unselfishly running up doctor and food bills without a second thought to see that they were cared for and loved. Bill is survived by many nieces and nephews, and like Jean, a legion of friends met through a lifetime, warming not just to his nurses and attendants who came not to just care for him, but to love him. He was deeply grateful for their care and giving hearts. Bill also is survived by very special "children" in his life and loving family. They especially include Glenda and Buck Richardson of Kennewick, and also Debbie Bailey of Kennewick, Diane Armitage of Napavine, Washington, and Gale Metcalf of Kennewick. Funeral services will be Monday, May 20 at 5:00 p.m. at Mueller's Chapel of the Falls in downtown Kennewick, followed by Fellowship at Kennewick Baptist Church, 2425 W. Albany Avenue, Kennewick.