Lt. Col. (Ret.) Stephen F. Wright

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Stephen Wright, 52, of Lansing, Kansas, formerly of Ivesdale, died on Sunday, April 5, 2026, at home.

He is survived by his wife, Gwen and their sons Benjamin and Ethan Wright, all of Lansing Kansas; as well as his father,  Addlie C. (Sandy) Wright of Bement and his mother, Nicola Tempel Davis of Ivesdale. 

He was preceded in death by his brother, Andrew C. Wright; his paternal grandparents Roy and Ruth (Hale) Wright and maternal grandparents Donald J. and Patricia (Grennan) Tempel.

Steve graduated from Bement High School and then enlisted in the US Army in June 1991.  His basic training was at Fort McClellan, GA, after which he then proceeded to Fort Benning, GA for Airborne Training. He finished his enlistment in 1995 at Fort Bragg, NC as Chemical Operations Specialist.

Steve attained a Bachelor of Science degree on May 14, 2000 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He was commissioned into the United States Army as a 1st Lieutenant (Armor Division) on May 15, 2000 after completing his training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  He served as tank commander in the Armor Division at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, South Korea from April 2001-April 2002. He also participated in the following deployments: Iraq 2003-2004; Iraq 2005-2006; Iraq 2007-2008; Iraq 2009-2010; and Afghanistan 2013-2014. Steve graduated from the U.S. Command and General Staff College on June 20, 2011 and received a Master of Science in Education from Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas in May 2011.

Steve spent 17 years as an Intelligence Officer and 3 years in the Armor Division (tank commander) during which time he received the following medals and awards: 4 Bronze Stars, 3 Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 5 Army Commendation Medals, 5 Army Achievement Medals, 2 Joint Meritorious Unit Awards, 3 Meritorious Unit Commendation Awards (Valorous Unit), Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korea Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and various general awards and honors too numerous to list.

Steve retired his Army Commission in 2020 and worked with Northrop Grumman and Yorktown Systems Group as Special Analyst. In his spare time, he enjoyed listening to music, playing euchre and visiting friends and family in Lansing.

A visitation will be held from 9am to 11am on Friday, April 17, 2026, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Ivesdale. The Memorial Mass will begin at 11am at the church. His cremated remains will be buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Ivesdale. Military Rites will be accorded.  

The family requests any donations be given to the Til Valhalla Project, The Wounded Warrior Project or your own favorite charity.

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