(Davis Enterprise, Sunday November 11, 2001)

Remembered: 'Doc' Wright, an avid cyclist, is seen during a brief break in a ride in the Vaca Hills of Yolo County in this 1987 photo taken by his friend Carlene Paris.

Vedder Allen 'Doc' Wright Dies at 91

He's remembered as outstanding athlete, bicyclist

By Elisabeth Sherwin, Enterprise correspondent

Reprint with permission from Davis Enterprise, November 11, 2001

A gathering is being planned for December 1 to honor the memory of Vedder Allen Wright, 91, who was born on October 19, 1910, and died on November 8, 2001.

Known as "Doc" to all his many friends, Wright had been exercising at a gym when he collapsed and was taken to Sutter Davis Hospital where he was pronounced dead on Thursday night.

He was a remarkable athlete who bicycled 20 to 30 miles a day well into his 80s. He stopped riding his beloved Peugeot racing bike in 1998 when he was involved in a serious traffic accident.

He was predeceased by his wife, Celeste Turner Wright, the first tenured woman faculty member at UC Davis, who died in 1999.

Immediate survivors include his son, Vedder Allen Wright Jr. of Davis.

Doc was born in St. John, Kansas, to Harry A. Wright and Winte Vedder. The family moved to Bellingham, Washington, and then to El Cajon outside San Diego when he was young. He had one brother, David, who died in 1983.

Upon his parents' divorce, his father remarried and that marriage resulted in Doc's brother Howard.

Doc always spoke of El Cajon fondly. The town was then located in the country where Doc liked to hike. He excelled at sports in high school, particularly track and wrestling.

He came to Davis in 1929 to attend the University Farm annex of UC Berkeley. He was interested in agriculture, but soon married his English teacher, Julia Celeste Turner. He also was captain of the track team. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1933.

Doc, 23, and Celeste, 27, were married in Berkeley on June 26, 1933. He attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin but never finished his degree.

He was a resident of Davis for most of the rest of his life with a few adventurous interruptions.

Fearing that war was approaching, he and a friend traveled through Central America and Mexico, roughing it most of the way. And when the United States entered World War II, he served in the Navy as a commissioned officer.

In the 1950s, Doc, Celeste and Vedder Jr. took a family trip to Europe. Still suffering from wanderlust, Doc took the trip of a lifetime in 1960 when he sailed from San Francisco to Tahiti and back on Sterling Hayden's boat "The Wanderer."

In 1969 he completed a dogsled trip in Canada's Northwest Territory with a Davis friend, Prebble Motley.

He worked as a locksmith for a time but his favorite activities included reading, playing badminton and spending time at The Club on G Street playing cribbage with rival Terence Lott and other friends.

In the early 1970s he discovered bike-riding, which became a passion for the rest of his life. He joined the Davis Bike Club and rode daily. He also began taking annual weeklong bike tours in Oregon and riding in Davis' famous Double Century.

In 1976, at the completion of the Double Century, Doc swore he would never do it again. He said the same thing for many subsequent years as he continued to take part in the 200-mile bike tour. He rode in his last Double Century when he was in his mid-80s, his only concession to age being that he rode tandem.

He was involved in a serious bike accident in 1980 but after nine days in the hospital and six months' rehabilitation was back in the saddle.

Eighteen years later, in 1998 when he was 87, a second traffic accident ended his biking career. He continued to exercise faithfully at the direction of this physical therapist until the day he died.

In his later years he looked forward to annual visits to Russ and Annie Nyborg, companions on "The Wanderer," at the Whaler Vineyard outside Ukiah. His most recent visit took place just last month and was followed by a family gathering in Davis to celebrate his birthday.

Close friends include Kathy and Jim West, Pat and Steve Kahn, Chuck and Barbara McKinney and many friends from the Davis Bike Club. He also had sailing friends from his sea-going adventures.

Survivors, in addition to his son, include two sisters-in-law, Barbara Wright Harmon of North Highlands and Charlene Turner Parker of Orange County; two nieces, Barbara Smith of West Sacramento and Caroll Roberson of Aliso Viejo; and three nephews, James Wright of Arizona, Robert Wright of Pennsylvania and Harbison Parker of Seattle.

Sunday, November 11, 2001
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