Dr. Wayne Wright

Dr. Wayne Keith Wright, a dentist and loving family man who lived in Vandalia practically his entire life, died Saturday in Dayton. He was 80.

The cause was complications of a stroke suffered in October.

Wright was born June 27, 1938, to Irene B. Wright and M.L. Wright and grew up in Vandalia. He was a 1956 graduate of Vandalia-Butler High School, where he was known for his practical jokes.

He attended Otterbein College, where he met his future wife, Susan Ellen Allaman. The two actually met while on a university-sponsored trip to Europe. Their first date was in Paris. The couple were married on Dec. 29, 1962.

Wright graduated from dental school at Ohio State University in 1964. He joined the Air Force as a captain and he and Susie spent the years of 1964-1966 in California. After serving in the Dental Corps, he was honorably discharged and the couple moved to Vandalia.

He practiced dentistry in Vandalia until his retirement in 2018.

He earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a teen and later served as a scout master for Troop No. 135 in Vandalia. He took the troop on many trips, including high adventure trips to the Rocky Mountains and the Boundary Waters.

He was an ardent fan of the outdoors and took his family on many backpacking trips out West. His extraordinary knowledge allowed him to identify mountains all over the West by their shapes and altitudes. He was passionate about the environment and was a life member of the Sierra Club.

He truly loved to travel. He was a charter member of Vandalia’s Sister Cities program and visited Lichtenfels, Germany, more than 20 times. He and Susie loved helping with Vandalia’s Octoberfest every year.

He also loved animals. He was once driving the family to Washington, D.C., and stopped to rescue a kitten on the side of the road. The cat became part of the Wright family. When it was hit by a car a few years later, his daughter found him on the porch, cradling the dead animal and crying.

Loved ones who passed before him include his mother, Irene Bennert Wright; grandparents, Dawes and Olive Robertson Bennert; his aunt, Elsie Bennert Short, her husband, Robert and their son, David Short; his father, Maynard Wright; and his half-sister and -brother, Joanne and Roland Wright

His legacy will be carried on by Susan Allaman Wright, his wife of 56 years; his son, Steven Keith Wright, his wife, Teresa Galvan Wright and Wayne’s granddaughter, Isabella Rio Wright; daughter, Diana Klyde-Allaman and her wife, Lynn Klyde-Allaman and Lynn’s son, Darrian Aguirre; his cousin, Charlene Short Hammond, her husband Jack Hammond, and their children Jackie, Julie, Linda and Beth; his cousin David’s widow, Marcia Short and children, Suzanne, Bobby and Janet; and his sister-in-law Sharon Allaman Hoover, her husband, John, and their children Karin and Elizabeth Hoover.

Morton-Whetstone Funeral Home in Vandalia, Ohio, is handling the arrangements. Visitation will be Friday, February 1st, 4:00-7:00 PM, with the funeral service Saturday, February 2nd, 11:00 AM.