Vernon Lee Wright

Vernon Lee Wright, lover of whisky, hot peppers, the great outdoors, LSU women's basketball, strong women and good dogs, died early in the morning of February 9th, graciously waiting until his three children could all be at his bedside. He was not afraid of death, he had lived a good life and lived far longer than he had expected.

Born in Muscatine, Iowa on 2/20/1941 to Bernice Hazel Wright (née Calvelage) and Paul Emery Wright, Vernon was the 2nd of 8 children, and grew up in and around Muscatine. He and his older brother Russell often told the story of their father buying them new shovels, laying out the stakes for their new house and saying "The basement goes here." His parents, who had not had the opportunity to finish high school, instilled a life-long appreciation of hard work and integrity. After graduating from Muscatine High School, Vernon went to Iowa State University and majored in Wildlife Management. He met Patricia Hammar there and they married in 1966. He completed a master's degree at Purdue University in Indiana, a PhD in Zoology at Washington State University and a Postdoctoral fellowship in Statistics at Cornell University.

He and his young family led the itinerant life of a PhD until he landed at Louisiana State University in 1978 where he was a professor, first in Experimental Statistics and later in Forestry where he was often found assisting others in designing experimentally rigorous research. He was not afraid of following the data and making unpopular recommendations; his lab’s data did not support the then status quo of releasing farm-raised ~4-foot alligators to “bolster” the wild alligator populations after a high percentage of tags from captive raised gators were found in the bellies of much larger wild gators. In the early aughts one of his grad students spotted a pair of very large woodpeckers, and the student’s uncanny description of little known behavioral characteristics, among other details, convinced him that Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers might survive deep in the swamps where few humans venture, and even fewer would distinguish them from other native woodpeckers.

He was very active in the Sierra Club, for many years leading full moon canoe trips in Alligator Bayou and Two O’Clock Bayou. Some of these trips were with his peers - other naturalists and canoeists - and some were with his children’s friends, classmates or youth group members. He found an intellectual and spiritual home for many years at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge. After retiring from LSU he moved to property in Clinton, Louisiana where he hunted, gardened and farmed. He continued to teach; first as a volunteer tutoring students in Clinton and later teaching natural history through LSU continuing education.

In 2012 he met Ada White and they fell madly in love. He moved from his farm to hers in Ethel and at various points they had horses, cows, donkeys, goats, chickens, dogs and cats. He had very little use for cities but traveled broadly to see the natural world. He and Ada traveled together to see their families and to see Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, the Olympic peninsula in Washington and Glacier National Park in Montana.

After Ada White passed away on December 16th, 2025 he spent several weeks staying with his son’s family or with his visiting daughters, graciously hosted by his first wife, before moving into Barclay House in Baton Rouge where he was just starting to get connected. Even as his physical needs increased, he was attentive and respectful to all who cared for him, staff and family, always asking how we were doing and cracking jokes to lighten the mood.

Vern was preceded in death by his wife Ada Koenig White, his brothers Russell and Ronald, his sister Jean Brase, his brother-in-law Hank Luba and many devoted canines. He is survived by his children Becky (Jonathan Gaw) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pam (Louis LaPierre) of Vancouver, Washington, and Tim (Candace) of Baton Rouge; grandchildren Jade, Evie, Madeleine, Tessa, Emory, and Caroline. He is also survived by his first wife Patricia Hammar Wright, his step-children JT (Tracy), Russell (Kay), and Laura (Morgan); and step-grandchildren Jake, Will, Sam, Jon and Graham as well as by his siblings Melvin Wright (Kathy), Eileen Luba, Lorrie Dicks (Barry) and Bernie Wright Brown and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by two very good dogs, Pete and Bart, who will live with JT and Laura respectively.

A Memorial for both Vern Wright and Ada White Wright will happen at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge on Friday April 10th, 2026 at 10:00 am. A family graveside interment will occur at Greenwood Cemetery in Muscatine later this spring. The family would like to thank the staff at Barclay House Memory Care, NeuroMedical Rehab Center, and Clarity Hospice for their care; Dottie Kelly for her friendship and support, and Dee Alexander for years of compassionate home care, Robert Knighten for service on the farm and step-daughter Laura for uprooting her life to move next door to allow them to live on the farm for Ada’s last year and a half of life.