Obituary for Phillip Wright | Strong-Hancock Funeral Home
- Date Of Birth: April 21, 1954
- Date Of Death: April 11, 2012
- State: Maine
Phillip E Wright, 57 of Newcastle, passed away suddenly April 11, 2012 at the Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta. Born on April 21, 1954, he was the son of Earl and Dorothy (Gamage) Wright of South Bristol. Phillip grew up in South Bristol, attending South Bristol Elementary School and graduating Lincoln Academy in 1972. While at Lincoln, he was a member of the champion track team in 1970. He went on to further his education, and earned his Master’s Degree in Business from Southern Maine University. As a child, Phillip was a boy scout, and became a member of the Union Church in South Bristol. He also won many trophies racing speedboats as a teenager. He served 6 years in the US Navy, and was a reservist following his honorable discharge from active duty. He was a Selectman for the town of Newcastle from 1990-2005, finishing his term as Chairman of the Board of Selectmen for over 9 years. During his tenure, he was instrumental in the regrowth of the alewife population at the Damariscotta Mills. For 29 years, he worked as a welder, and member of management, at Bath Iron Works. After leaving BIW, he combined his love of nature and landscaping, into Phil’s Hill Farm Landscaping. With a love for the outdoors, and a tremendous green thumb, he was also a tree farm harvester and supported land conservation by preserving acreage at Phil’s Hill Farm. Phillip was a long-time Labrador Retriever breeder, providing hundreds of families with Maine’s favorite dog until 2007. He was also a gentleman farmer, raising his own livestock and supplying poultry to local grocers. Phillip was a Lion’s Club member for many years, having served as past President and District Zone Chairman for the Damariscotta/Newcastle Club until 2005. In recent years he attended the St Andrews church in Newcastle, where his daughter Ellen sings in the choir. He was predeceased by two brothers, Warren Wright and Calvin Wright. He survived by his daughters, Ellen Gabriella Gamage and her mother Ellen Lucia (Malinowski), and Erika McKenney and her husband Ryan and son Bryce of Topsham; one brother, Norman Wright and his wife Lori of South Bristol; three sisters, Phyllis Cotton and her husband Peter of South Portland, Lorraine Tanguay and her husband Gene of Albany, ME and Julie Kaplinger and her husband Dan of South Bristol; as well as several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.