Joe Lucas Wright

Joe Lucas Wright passed away on Tuesday September 26, 2017 in Grapevine. He was 79 years of age.

Service: The funeral service will be 2:00 pm Friday at the First United Methodist Church of Grapevine. Interment will follow at the Historic Grapevine Cemetery. The visitation will be from 5 to 8 pm Thursday at Lucas Funeral Home in Grapevine.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Nash Farms in Grapevine through the Joe Lucas Wright Nash Farm Memorial Fund: http://tinyurl.com/JoeWrightMemorialFund

Joe Lucas Wright is the son of Lemoine Wright and Mattie Mae Lucas Wright. He lived his entire life in the Grapevine area where his family roots run deep.

When Joe was a little kid, just four or five years old, he ran off from home all the time. If they left him outside, he was gone! He usually went up to Main Street. He would go to Buckner’s Grocery Store, where they would give him a candy bar and call his mother to tell her where he was. Joe had a tricycle and he would ride it to his Aunt Millie’s house and across Main Street all the way to his grandparents’ house on West Wall. He got his bottom worn out many times for running off, but that didn’t stop him. He walked the streets like most kids in those days - learning about life and people, which lead to Joe being one of the best sources on Grapevine’s history.

Joe often visited with Mr. Langley, the night watchman, and Mr. Wiley Willhoite. He would go to the drugstore to read comic books, because "if you read ‘um there you didn’t have to pay for them." Joe often told the story of when coffee went from five cents to ten cents at the City Drug Store. Robbie Starr put up a sign that read, “Coffee-just ten cents.” This made everyone mad.

Joe attended elementary school in Grapevine. His mother taught him in the third grade and his aunt, Helen Lucas, taught him in the fourth grade. Joe graduated from Grapevine High School. He said he had hated high school and the only way he graduated was that Mr. Stubbs, the principal, wanted him out. Joe was named distinguished Alumni by Grapevine High School in 2003.

Joe grew up helping J.T. Lucas beginning when he was about twelve years old. He didn’t want to help him, but he didn’t have a choice. Joe said, “When your uncle told you to do something, you did it.” J.T. was very good to Joe and was a big influence in his life. His Uncle Hugh Wright from Beaumont also took personal interest in Joe. He influenced Joe to start fiddling with real estate after he went into business for himself.

Joe worked for Lucas Funeral Home for several years after graduating with honors from Gupton Jones School of Mortuary Science in Dallas. He drove an ambulance for Lucas and once delivered a baby in Fort Worth in the back of the ambulance. Joe helped form Tate-Wright Construction Company with Lanny Tate. He later formed Wright Development Company and Wright Construction Company and has developed many of the major residential neighborhoods in Grapevine including Lakecrest Estates, Oak Creek, Countryside, The Meadows, Trail Lake, Winding Creek, Timberline South, Timberline East, Green Briar, Carriage Glen, Silverlake, and several others in Grapevine, Colleyville, and Keller. His company also contracts with public and private entities to lay streets and utility lines. The businesses are located at his grandparent Wrights’ property on West Wall Street where they had conducted various businesses. He restored the home as an office as well as other out buildings.

Mr. Wright served on the Planning and Zoning Commission in the city of Southlake, but he never ran for public office, although he was an advisor to many public officials. His down home attitude and honesty have spoken well of him throughout his life. Joe would always drive his red pickup truck around town and would often stop to tell a story or to “supervise” projects.

Joe made the most of his opportunities in life. Investing heavily in real estate and relying upon the influence that others gave him during his childhood, Joe became a successful family man, a community leader, a visionary for the city, and a great supporter of the growth and development of the area. He was one of the most successful businessmen to ever set foot in Grapevine.

Joe was preceded in passing by his sister, June Curtis.

Survivors: Joe is survived by his loving wife of nearly 60 years, Balla Hicks Wright; his son, Lemoine Wright and wife, Judy, and their children, Ashley and Kindal; his daughter, Melinda Wright, and her children, Brooke, Taylor, MacKenna and Brayden; his cousin, Helen Jean Lucas Reed; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, family, and friends.