William Robert Wright (May 20, 1935 – January 13, 2012) was an American attorney, political candidate, and author.

Early life and education

Wright was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, to Ralph Bassett Wright and Afton Middlemiss Wright. He graduated from East High School in 1953, and then served in the Swiss Austrian

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

of the LDS Church from 1955 to 1958. Returning home to the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, he was elected student body vice president and received a Bachelor of Science in Geology in 1960, and a J.D. in 1963.

Career

Wright worked at the firm Jones, Waldo, Holbrook & McDonough in Salt Lake City for 29 years.. He later become a partner at

Arent Fox Arent Fox Schiff LLP (formerly Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn) is a national white shoe law firm and lobbying firm. It represents global corporations, local and national politicians, and large non-profit organizations. The firm is ranked 77 ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and then at

Bryan Cave Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP is an international law firm with 25 offices worldwide. Bryan Cave was headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Berwin Leighton Paisner was headquartered in London. In 2018, Bryan Cave and Berwin Leighton Paisner me ...

. From 1977 to 1979, Wright was Chairman of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's United States House of Representatives ...

. He ran unsuccessfully as the GOP's candidate for Utah governor in the 1980 gubernatorial election against Scott M. Matheson.Bob Wright, former Utah GOP leader, dies
''The Salt Lake Tribune,'' January 13, 2012 He was considered for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

's judicial nomination to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (in case citations, 10th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Colorado * District of Kansas * Dist ...

. From 1989 to 1992, Wright served in the LDS Church as

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

North

. There, he met

Gregory Prince Gregory Antone Prince (born 1948) is an American pathology researcher, businessman, author, social critic, and historian of the Latter Day Saint movement. Biography Prince was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. After graduating as val ...

, a pathology researcher, and they began a ten-year collaboration to produce a biography of David O. McKay. The book drew from the Middlemiss papers and interviews conducted by Wright and Prince, and was published in 2005 as ''

David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism ''David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism'' is the first book to draw upon the David O. McKay Papers at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, in addition to some two hundred interviews conducted by the authors, Gregory Princ ...

'', winning multiple awards. After retiring from full time legal work, Wright practiced law independently in

and

He also served as

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

of the

's Institutional Council and as chairman of the Utah State School Board. Wright was also a lecturer and Fellow of the S.J. Quinney College of Law and held leadership positions with the

Utah State Bar Utah State Bar is the regulatory agency established by the Utah Supreme Court to regulate the practice of law in Utah. The Utah State Bar is funded by dues from members, Bar exam dues, continuing education fees, Pro Hac Vice fees, and revenue gene ...

Personal life

Wright married Janet Clark in the

Salt Lake Temple The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At , it is the largest Latter-day Saint temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple ...

in 1965. They lived in Salt Lake City and had one daughter and seven sons, including Thomas Wright, a real estate broker and one-time Chairman of the

. Wright died on January 13, 2012, after a 20-year struggle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

Notes

Citations

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Bob 1935 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Mormon missionaries American biographers American Latter Day Saint writers American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints American Mormon missionaries in Switzerland American Mormon missionaries in the United States Neurological disease deaths in Utah Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Historians of the Latter Day Saint movement Mission presidents (LDS Church) Politicians from Salt Lake City University of Utah people Utah lawyers Utah Republicans Writers from Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah 20th-century American lawyers