WRIGHT, Benjamin J. (Gentle Ben)

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 04/28/2006 Benjamin J. Wright, affectionately known as "Gentle Ben," died Sunday, April 23, 2006 at University Medical Center, Tucson, after battling for three years with leukemia. Ben was an outstanding fifth grade student at Blue Ridge Middle School. He was in Brother Watson's Primary Class in the Woodland Lake Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Pinetop. He loved to study birds and was planning to be an ornithologist (the study of birds) when he grew up. His favorite times were spent playing and spending time with his three brothers. He loved to play soccer and ride on his bike. He was a great fan of Bret Favre. Why? Nobody knows. Though he would eat fried eggs with runny yolks if his mom made them, he preferred to eat his dad's. He was an avid collector of things from baseball cards to candy, even though he wouldn't eat it. He had many friends, but he will be greatly missed by Levi Crockett and Devin Moffat. His favorite band was BNL and he enjoyed listening to them on his I-Pod during his many trips to the hospital. He was able to travel to Hawaii with his family, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ben's last message to his family was that families are forever and they need to stay together. Ben is survived by his parents, Douglas A. Wright, M.D., and Patricia Dixon Wright, of Pinetop; his three brothers, Jasen Wright, Joseph Wright, and Daniel Wright, of Pinetop; his grandparents, Derrel and VeAnne Wright of Austin, Texas, and Glen and Jenny Dixon of Lakeside; and his great-grandmothers, Ellen Wheelright of Boise, Idaho, and Naoni Falconer of Mesa. A viewing will be held Friday, April 28 from 6-8 p.m. at Owens Mortuary, Show Low. Funeral Services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 29, at the Pinetop-Lakeside Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Owens Mortuary of Show Low handled the arrangements. For those who have special memories and would like to send private condolences or sign an online guest book, visit www.owensmortuary.com.