(From Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home)Ronald Gean Wright, 77, passed away in his sleep Saturday, June 17, 2023, at the home of his twin brother, Donald Wright, in Mt. Vernon, Missouri.
He was born July 29, 1945, at Springfield General Osteopathic Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, the son of Arthur Cecil and Pauline Frances (Heagerty) Wright, arriving five minutes after his brother.
Their parents were not expecting twins. This was in the days before routine ultrasounds and other miracles of modern medicine, so the expectant parents had chosen only two names for the baby they were awaiting, one for a girl and one for a boy. Fortunately, members of the hospital staff were delighted to help the now slightly shell-shocked mom and dad come up with alternate names, suitable for twin boys.
As twins, Ronnie and Donnie enjoyed a special bond throughout their lives, playing together as children and later working and spending leisure hours together as adults. What one of them didn’t think of to do, the other one did, whether dumping out and spreading a can of Karo syrup over their mom’s kitchen floor or painting their dad’s pickup while he made a trip to the state of Washington to pick apples or holding a private (they were the only attendees) funeral service for the new doll their sister had received for Christmas. The doll disappeared shortly after the holiday and reappeared only when the garden was plowed in the spring.
Once they started talking, one twin often began a sentence, and the other one finished it. They were so much a matched set, it is difficult to speak of one without speaking of both.
The family lived in Fair Play, Missouri, until March 5, 1955, when they moved to Mt. Vernon, where the boys graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1964. During high school, both worked at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, which was located at the corner of Hickory Street and Mt. Vernon Boulevard.
As adults, Ronnie and Donnie dedicated many years to jobs in community service. In 1965, both were commissioned as Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies, and in 1968, as city police officers, serving part-time in those roles until 1977. In addition, they served as volunteers with the Mt. Vernon Fire Protection District for 58 years, having joined May 28, 1965. The longest time the two were ever separated any length of time was when they attended separate terms at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Academy in 1974. Ronnie attended first, and Donnie later, both coming home only on weekends.
As twins, Ronnie and Donnie enjoyed a special bond throughout their lives, playing together as children and later working and spending leisure hours together as adults. What one of them didn’t think of to do, the other one did, whether dumping out and spreading a can of Karo syrup over their mom’s kitchen floor or painting their dad’s pickup while he made a trip to the state of Washington to pick apples or holding a private (they were the only attendees) funeral service for the new doll their sister had received for Christmas. The doll disappeared shortly after the holiday and reappeared only when the garden was plowed in the spring.
Once they started talking, one twin often began a sentence, and the other one finished it. They were so much a matched set, it is difficult to speak of one without speaking of both.
The family lived in Fair Play, Missouri, until March 5, 1955, when they moved to Mt. Vernon, where the boys graduated from Mt. Vernon High School in 1964. During high school, both worked at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, which was located at the corner of Hickory Street and Mt. Vernon Boulevard.
As adults, Ronnie and Donnie dedicated many years to jobs in community service. In 1965, both were commissioned as Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies, and in 1968, as city police officers, serving part-time in those roles until 1977. In addition, they served as volunteers with the Mt. Vernon Fire Protection District for 58 years, having joined May 28, 1965. The longest time the two were ever separated any length of time was when they attended separate terms at the Missouri State Highway Patrol Law Enforcement Academy in 1974. Ronnie attended first, and Donnie later, both coming home only on weekends.
Ronnie and Donnie became minor celebrities in their hometown and elsewhere when a group of photojournalism students from Missouri University descended upon Mt. Vernon to work on a project documenting life in a small town. A photo taken by Roberta Collette, one of those students, was included in the book “Women See Men.” The book wound up as the subject of an interview on NBC’s Today Show, and the photo of the twins in their police uniforms was the only one chosen from the book to be featured on the show.
Together, the brothers worked as carpenters and roofers, as well as mowing cemeteries throughout the county. Ronnie was best known as the full-time driver for the City of Mt. Vernon’s taxi service, a position he held for 26 years, until his retirement in 2018 at age 73.
During his taxi-driving career, he kept meticulous records that showed he transported more than 268,000 passengers.
The twins were active with the Mt. Vernon Lions Club in the 1970s, and were charter members of King’s Way Christian Church in Mt. Vernon.
Ronnie loved to play bingo and often won the nightly jackpot, but the most important thing in his life was family. He loved family gatherings, holidays, reunions, and especially when they included meals. He enjoyed visiting with family members and was fond of each new generation, down to great and great-great nieces and nephews, as well as countless cousins.
Ronnie is survived by his twin brother, Donnie Wright; a sister, Charlotte (Charlie) Meeks; a nephew, DC Wright and his wife, Amy; three nieces, Michelle Wheeler and her husband, Jeff, Sarah Zumbiel and her husband, Scott, and Elizabeth Meeks; three great-nephews; two great-nieces; one great-great nephew and one great-great-niece.
Ronnie was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Pauline Wright and sister-in-law, Marion Wright.
A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 23, 2023, at the Fossett-Mosher Funeral Home in Mt. Vernon. Burial will follow at the Maple Park Cemetery in Aurora, Missouri. Visitation will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in the funeral home chapel.
Online condolences may be shared at www.FossettMosherFuneralHome.com
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