Joseph Richard Wright, age 82 of Harned, Kentucky passed way peacefully with family at Baptist East Hospital on July 15th, 2023. Joe was born in the same house he would call home for his entire life on July 29th, 1940. He is the son of the late Silas Benjamin Wright, Sr. and Dorothy Penick Wright, and the grandson of the late Earl Fleming Wright and Lydia Birkhead Wright. Joe met the love of his life and wife of nearly sixty years, Barbara, in a tennis class they had together at the University of Kentucky. Joe had the advantage over Barbara in their tennis class that semester, but the tables would be turned that fall when they enrolled in a roller-skating class together. Turns out Joe had never been on skates as Barbara had, so she spent the semester holding Joe’s hands and helping him find his balance. Joe’s life, above all, was about service: service to his God, his country, and his family. Joe is a Christian who served in numerous leadership positions and has been a lifelong member of Harned Methodist Church. Joe served as a marine, as a member of the Breckinridge County School Board, and as a Kentucky State Senator for seventeen years, twelve of which as Senate Majority Floor Leader. Joe has received too many awards, honors, and recognitions across his lifetime to count, and he would not want them counted anyhow. To support his family, Joe toiled and devoted himself to what he loved most: farming. Just as God sent his disciples two by two, Joe was blessed to have as his partner in business, his beloved brother Ben. Together they took the two enterprises their Pappy Wright started and have been blessed with much success.
Joe is survived by his wife Barbara; daughter Barbara Jo Ledman and her husband Tim; daughter Julie D. Cheetham and her husband Brian; daughter Lydia C. Grimes and her husband Mark; son Earl F. Wright and his wife Treva.
Joe was blessed with fourteen grandchildren: Sophie, Cara, Maddie, Charlie, Lydia Jule, Lily, Joseph, Isabel, Elizabeth, Benjamin, Boaz, Elena, Barbara Gail and Lemuel and one great grandchild Vivian.
He is also survived by his siblings: Rosemary Alexander and her late husband Darryl; Ben Wright and his wife Brenda; Suzanne Jenkins and her husband Gary; Rebecca Glasscock and her husband Larry; Judy Beth Oglesby and her husband Steve.
Funeral services will be held at Harned Methodist Church on Friday, July 21st, 2023, at 12 PM under the direction of Trent-Dowell Funeral Home. Visitation will be held at the church on Thursday, July 20th, 2023, from 5 – 8 PM and Friday, 10 AM – 12 PM. All times are central.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the BCHS FFA Chapter, the Breckinridge County Association for the Handicapped or the Breckinridge County Lady Tigers Basketball Program.
