Bill Wright

It is with great sorrow that the family of Billy Joe Wright announces his passing from this earth on September 9, 2025. Billy was born in a little West Texas town called Amherst Texas on January 26, 1932. Billy, also known as Bill for most of his adult life, learned from an early age the value of hard work. He was the youngest of five children. His parents were essentially tenant farmers. As anyone in agriculture knows, if you did not work hard, then you did not eat. This trait was carried throughout his life. Since his parents were not the landowners, the family was forced to move frequently. The longest place Bill lived during his first 18 years of life was 3 years. They had stops in Sudan, Olton, Fieldton, to name a few before graduating back in Amherst. After high school, Bill enlisted in the Army and did his two year enlistment at Ft Hood Texas serving as a clerk. He took Uncle Sam up on the GI bill and attended Texas Technology College in Lubbock, TX. He graduated with an accounting degree in January 1958. Bill then traveled to Lovington, NM to work for a public accountant. This is where he met the love of his life, Mahala Wright. They courted and married later that year on December 27, 1958. Keeping to his nomad style of upbringing, he took his new bride to Carlsbad, NM to work as an accountant for a mining supply company. The couple welcomed their three sons in Carlsbad. In January of 1968, the family moved to Roswell, NM where Bill worked the next 25 years as the controller for Diamond A Cattle Company. It was time for another move and Bill ended up in T or C, NM for a short period before his last move to Albuquerque in December of 1998.

Bill was no stranger to Albuquerque. His brother in law, DW Falls, had started developing the West side of the city just below the escarpment in the 1960s. Bill invested in the company, Volcano Cliffs Inc, from the start. He served as the president of Volcano Cliffs Inc from the early 1990s until his death. The vision the company has for Albuquerque is coming to fruition with the last portion of land and it holds the best view of the city on top of the escarpment.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents Joseph Clinton Wright and Polly Lois (Burgin) Wright, siblings Olene Falls, JC Wright, Ray Wright, and Louise Strickland, son Steven Wright, and granddaughter Jennifer Wright.

Bill is survived by his loving wife Mahala (Larason) Wright, two sons, James (Cathy) and David (Mindi), seven grandchildren Michael, Clinton, Kyle, Mindy, Charlie, Henry, and Andrew, two great grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Services will be held at Sunset Memorial Park, 924 Menaul Blvd NE, at 10:00 am Wednesday September 17, 2025 followed by the burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family ask you make a donation in his name to Habitat for Humanity, Susan G Korman Foundation, or St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital.

Rest in peace Bill as your service to your family, country, and friends is now complete.