William Ross Wright

A Life Lived Abundantly Affectionally know as William-Ross or Ross, to his family, and Bill to most, William Ross Wright was born in South Hampton County Virginia on October 25, 1939. Bill spent his early days attending school, playing with his younger siblings, and helping out in the family store. He later married and moved to New York, where he started a family and resided until his retirement. Because of Bill’s innate analytical and critical thinking skills, he quickly became a manager for an electrical appliance manufacturing company. However, not wanting to move when the plant relocated, he began his career with the NYPD. He worked his way up to Detective 2nd grade and decided to retire a few years after being injured in the line of duty. Bill loved spending time with his family on their boat and was looking to retire in a home with private access to the water. He found the perfect place and settled in Chesapeake, Virginia in 1994. With the freedom of retirement came the opportunity to explore other loves. One of those was O gauge trains. He started visiting Mike’s Train Land and things took off from there. He became a member of the Eastern Division Train Collectors Association in January 1995. His fellow members held him in high regards. They described him as, the man with unbeatable knowledge, gifted, and a mastermind at the electrical components for this class of trains. He will also be remembered as kind and willing to help any and everyone. Bill spent many years traveling with the group to conferences, making custom layouts and running the trains for local events. The Nottoway roots instilled in him by his maternal grandmother led him to research and reclaim his Nottoway heritage. Lineage was important to him; he would assist others in researching their tribal roots and opening the pathway to becoming tribal citizens. As War Chief for the Nottoway Indians of Virginia, he and the Tribal Council members proved the bloodline of the tribe still existed and gained State recognition on February 26, 2010. Until his death Bill remained the War Chief and assisted the tribe in true lineage growth by helping others trace and reclaim their Nottoway heritage. The tribe now has a Community House (Surry, VA), a website (nottowayindians.org), holds annual Powwows (the 3rd weekend in September), has published three books and have plans to seek Federal recognition in the future. William Ross Wright, - Sunrise, October 25, 1939, Sunset, January 7, 2026 - is preceded in death by his mother, Thelma B. Sexton, father, Rufus Wright, stepfather Henry Sexton, Sr., wife, Jeanette G. Wright, brothers James D. Wright and Nathaniel Wright, and stepbrother Henry Sexton, Jr. He leaves six children to cherish his memory, Wanda R. Wright, Lynell A. Wright, Quintin D. Wright (Sheila), William R. Wright (Sabrina), Teresita T. Harness (Perry), and Ross W. Smith (Gabrielle); seventeen grandchildren, seventeen great grandchildren, two sisters, Angela Mullen and Renee Wright, three brothers Herman I. Sexton, Anthony Wright and Tracy Wright, a stepsister, Elaine Ward, a loving partner, Jacqueline Smith, and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. Our dad was very special to us and showered us, and our children, with an abundance of love. Our memories include, him attending Girl Scout Father Daughter dances, attending Peewee Football games, unexpectedly picking us up from school, teaching us how to write checks and track our finances, watching him solve the latest puzzle game in record time, spending time sitting on his peer crabbing, fishing and listening to him share stories of his life, and of course going to see him operate the trains at a local event. Dad/Pop loved flowers, plants and trees. If you desire, please plant a tree or flowers in remembrance of him. We love you and miss you. Coukkii, Lynell, Quincy, Billy, Terri and Pop

William Ross Wright

October 25, 1939 - January 7, 2026