FRIENDS OF MUSIC: Tom & Peggy Wright

FRIENDS OF MUSIC
Tom & Peggy Wright

We've always considered SFA "our university."

With those few words, Tom Wright summed up the reason he and his wife Peggy have generously supported Stephen F. Austin State University through the years.

"SFA means so much to me and so much to the town. We are all fortunate to live in a community with a university," Peggy said. "It enables us to have a quality of life that we would not have otherwise."

The driving force behind the Wrights' support of SFA through the Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts is the belief that a college education is enhanced by activities beyond the classroom.

The cultural, social, athletic and extra-curricular activities are all important aspects of life on a university campus, but we should never forget that education is the primary focus," she said.

The couple's Wedgeworth-Wright Endowment for the Arts is one of the largest gifts to the SFA College of Fine Arts.

"They have been great friends to SFA over the years," said Dr. Ron Anderson, director of SFA's School of Music. "Their generosity will allow generations of students to see and be involved in programs that wouldn't have been possible without an endowment of this kind."

Biography

At the age of 12, Tom moved from Virginia to East Texas where his father founded Texas Farm Products Co. Peggy is a native of Nacogdoches County and attended SFA's Demonstration School as a child.

During a furlough home from the U.S. Army in 1942, Tom became reacquainted with Peggy, then a student at SFA. After a whirlwind three-day courtship, the two corresponded via telephone when Tom began an officer candidacy course in North Carolina.

In July, Tom gathered $14.50 in quarters and set out on his mission to propose to Peggy. He said that he had one quarter remaining when Peggy accepted. They were married in September 1942.

In April 1943, Tom was sent for duty in North Africa. His service included the invasions of Sicily, Anzio, Southern France and the liberation of Rome. He returned to the United States in September 1945 and was discharged as a major.

When World War II called her husband overseas, Peggy continued her education and graduated in 1944 with a bachelor's degree in music and English.

"Patrons of SFA"

However, the Wrights' association with SFA didn't end at Peggy's graduation. In fact, the relationship was just taking off.

The Wedgeworth-Wright Lecture Series, established in 1974 to honor Peggy's parents (Monnie and Belle Wedgeworth), brought former President Jimmy Carter to the SFA campus in 1989.

Tom and Peggy's arts endowment contributes to the Orchestra of the Pines, University Series presentations and other programs sponsored by the SFA College of Fine Arts.

In 1974, Peggy was named president of the SFA Alumni Association and served on its board of directors for six years.

Peggy has served some 16 years as a member of the university's Board of Regents, serving as chair for two different terms. In 1986, she received the SFA Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumnus Award and was named the 1989 Woman of the Year by the American Association of University Women.

At May 1997 commencement, Peggy was honored as the second recipient of an honorary doctorate in humane letters from SFA.

After the war, Tom returned to Texas Farm Products and served as vice president in charge of sales. He was named CEO and president of the company in 1983. Tom retired in 1988 as CEO and president of Texas Farm Products Inc., but remains as the company's chairman of the board.

He established the Tom Wright Golf Endowment at SFA to support the university's golf team. Tom has been a Rotarian for 45 years and was honored as the organization's Paul Harris Fellow.

The Wrights have two daughters, Katherine "Kitty" Dippel of Brenham and Peggy Pollock of Dallas. The couple has five granddaughters - Margaret Katherine "Meg" Voelter, Margaret Elizabeth Pollock, Caroline Wright Pollock, Laura Montgomery Pollock and Elizabeth Wright Dippel - and one grandson, Tiernan Dippel III, a finance senior at SFA.

Webster's dictionary defines a "patron" as "a protector; a benefactor." One can think of no better word to describe Tom and Peggy Wright of Nacogdoches.

It is with great love, pride and appreciation of the entire SFA and Nacogdoches community that the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building was dedicated in 1999 in honor of two true "patrons of SFA."

Department of Music
Stephen F. Austin State University
Box 13043, SFA Station
Nacogdoches, TX 75962-3043
Phone: 936-468-4602 | Fax: 936-468-5810
Dr. Ron Anderson, Chair
Roni Lias, Webmaster