U.N. pioneer Clara Wright of Seminole dies

By LORRI HELFAND

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 30, 2001

SEMINOLE -- Clara Wright, who worked behind the scenes at the launch of the United Nations, has died at 98.

Mrs. Wright, a foreign affairs analyst for the State Department from 1943 to the late 1950s, died Friday (June 29, 2001). For much of her time there, she was in charge of processing treaties and distributing official documents.

The U.N. charter was signed in San Francisco on June 26, 1945, but was not ratified until Oct. 24, 1945. That day, Mrs. Wright gathered the ratification documents from Byelorussia, the Ukraine and the U.S.S.R., which made the United Nations an official body.

Mrs. Wright also took a role in processing the peace treaty with Japan that ended World War II and documents that created NATO.

She was born in Greensboro, N.C., and studied business at the University of North Carolina, where she played basketball and worked as a lifeguard.

While working in Washington, D.C., she met her husband, Kenneth, who worked as an engineer for the Navy department. They came to the area in 1969 from Arlington, Va. They lived several years at Boca Ciega Point and moved into Freedom Square in Seminole in 1984.

At both locations, she was active in beautification efforts. She also played golf and was an avid bridge player.

Her niece, Elsie Freeman Hasty, said Mrs. Wright was a conscientious person who enjoyed social events.

"She was very sweet and very thoughtful -- any important date of my life, she was there," Hasty said.

Mrs. Wright's grandniece, Donna Wallace, said her great-aunt made a conscious choice to be a career woman, rather than have children. She also described her as a powerful woman.

"She was strong-willed and she was firm, but fair," said Wallace, who said she challenged Mrs. Wright on occasion.

Other survivors include two grandnieces, Susan Hasty Weiland of Riverview and Teresa Hasty Johnson of Land O' Lakes; and a grandnephew, Todd Freeman Hasty of Brandon.

A graveside funeral will be held at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro. A time has not been set for the service. E. James Reese Funeral Home in Seminole will be handling local arrangements.

- Information from Times files was used in this report.

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