Honoring Tradition.
Celebrating Life.
//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-life-panel.jpg

David Wraight

November 3, 1933 - January 13, 2008
Comstock Park, MI

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-01.jpg



Visitation

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Van Strien Creston Chapel
1833 Plainfield Ave., N.E
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
(616) 361-2613
Driving Directions

Visitation

Wednesday, January 16, 2008
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EST
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Van Strien Creston Chapel
1833 Plainfield Ave., N.E
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
(616) 361-2613
Driving Directions

Service

Thursday, January 17, 2008
11:00 AM EST
Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes
Van Strien Creston Chapel
1833 Plainfield Ave., N.E
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
(616) 361-2613
Driving Directions

Contributions


At the family's request memorial contributions are to be made to those listed below. Please forward payment directly to the memorial of your choice.

None Specified

If you wish to make a memorial contribution, please select an organization of your choice.

Flowers


Below is the contact information for a florist recommended by the funeral home.

Ball Park Floral
8 Valley Ave.
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
(616) 459-3409
Driving Directions
Web Site

Life Story / Obituary


//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/view-life-story-video.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-05.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/download-memory-folder.jpg
Print

David Wraight was a fun-loving, reliable and trustworthy man. His family and friends respected him for his strength of mind and his love. Dave was continually guided by strong values, values that helped him make a lasting and positive impression on the lives he touched.

In the year 1933, America found itself in trouble as the Great Depression pushed toward new heights, where one in every four individuals was unemployed. It was a hard and challenging time, but Harold Wraight and his wife, Luella (Nelson), of Onsted, Michigan maintained their positive spirits by focusing on a special blessing in their lives. On November 3, 1933, they delighted in welcoming the birth of their only child, a son they named David Frederick Charles Louis Wraight.

Dave spent his early childhood in Onsted, a picturesque, hilly region surrounded by many small lakes, better known as Irish Hills. As a young boy, Dave would roam the woods near his home always looking for adventure. It was here he learned the skills of an outdoorsman, like deer hunting and fishing, pastimes he enjoyed his entire life. Eventually, he and his parents moved a little further North in Michigan, settling in Baldwin, where Dave received his education in the Baldwin Community Schools. However, he didn’t much like school, so he left during high school and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean Conflict. Although Dave never saw combat, he served his country honorably back in the states as a mechanic, working on B-29 Bombers.

In 1954, while stationed in Salina, Kansas, Dave met the love of his life, Virginia Wilson, while roller-skating. Over the next year, the two fell in love and were happily married in 1955. After Dave’s honorable discharge from the military, he and Virginia stayed in Kansas for a short time, but then moved to Florida, near his father. Unfortunately, jobs were hard to come by here, so the couple moved to Michigan, where they welcomed the birth of their first child, son Craig. Dave was once again unable to find work to support his growing family, so they packed up and moved back to Kansas, near Virginia’s family. Here he found work with the Coca-Cola Company, working as a repairman on the cooler and dispensing units. Then in 1961, Dave and Virginia were able to transfer within their companies to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and they soon settled into their longtime home on Westgate NW. It wasn’t long after settling in that the couple delighted in the birth of their daughter, Debra, who completed the Wraight household.

The Wraight home was a place of great pride for Dave, and over the years he made many improvements, including custom cabinetry throughout. He also added a workshop to the garage, where he spent countless hours pursing his many hobbies. From leatherwork and wood burning pictures of nature and animals to assembling model trains in their basement, complete with hand crafted landscape, and painting with oil and water colors and chalk, Dave was a multi-talented craftsman. And no matter what task was at hand, he put his all into making his project perfect, which was easy with his meticulously organized workshop. Everything on the pegboards in his workshop had its place and a matching receipt, and things better be put back right if you borrowed it. His orderliness also carried over to his yard, which was well maintained, and his poor lawn mower broke down so much because he cleaned it too often. Outdoors, Dave and Virginia enjoyed growing a vegetable garden and tending it together.

Aside from his crafty side, Dave was also a great musician and played the drums for many years in a band called Versitiles. The group would practice in Dave’s basement on Wednesdays and perform on Saturday evenings and at occasional weddings. Their most frequent gig was at the Creston VFW, and their wives would often come along to hear those old time country songs. There was a period of time when Dave was also passionately into flying and had gotten his private pilot’s license. He took his family on many awe-inspiring sightseeing trips from high in the sky. When his feet were on the ground, Dave enjoyed driving too, and he drove the family to Kansas and Florida many times for vacation to visit relatives. After Dave took early retirement from Coca-Cola at the age of 55, he and Virginia enjoyed doing some traveling and took a few cruises together, one to Alaska and another through the Panama Canal.

All in all, though, Dave and Virginia simply enjoyed being in the comfort of their own home, spending time with their children and grandchildren. Dave was a proud father and grandfather, and he had no problem getting down on the floor to play with his grandkids. He loved to take care of his beloved wife, Virginia, too and while she still worked, he would make sure a hot meal was on the table when she came home. Because he worked for Coca-Cola for so many years, Dave had quite a collection of Coke memorabilia around the house, including signs, bears and clothing.

Tragically, in December, Dave fell on the ice and broke his hip, which ultimately led to many other health problems for him. After struggling for months, Dave passed away on Sunday, January 13, 2008, at the age of 74.

Dave Wraight could do just about anything, yet it was his kind heart that made him the man people were proud to know. He did not need great things in his life to make him happy. Dave was perfectly content working on one of his many projects with the knowledge that he had provided for and cared for his family. He will be deeply missed.

Dave is survived by his wife of 52 years, Virginia; their children: Craig and Catherine Wraight, Debra and Todd Lang; grandchildren: Craig D Wraight Jr., Dakota Wraight and Amanda Lang; and his sister-in-law, Norma (Jack) Just. A service to celebrate Dave’s life will be held on Thursday, January 17, at 11 a.m. at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home – Van Strien Creston Chapel , 1833 Plainfield NE, Grand Rapids, MI, where relatives and friends may visit with his family on Wednesday, January 16, from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Please visit Dave’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with his family or sign his online guest book.

//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/view-life-story-video.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-02.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-03.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-04.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/obituaries/007/32085/32085-05.jpg//cdn.lifestorynet.com/fh/download-memory-folder.jpg