The Daily Tar Heel

Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: City

Media Credit: Courtesy of Sheri Edwards Frank Taylor Wright was a frequent sight up and down Franklin Street. He rode the bus to Chapel Hill most days and became a recognizable figure with his finely tailored suits, hats and umbrellas. He died Monday.

Orange County lost a colorful man Monday.

Frank Taylor Wright, a Durham resident and integral part of Chapel Hill, died of breathing complications at UNC Hospitals Monday evening. He was 90 years old.

Wright was known for his bright and impeccably coordinated suits, which he showed off six days a week on Franklin Street.

"That was his profession," said Larry Edwards Jr., Wright's grandson.

Wright lived with Edwards and his wife for the past 13 years. "I'm 50, and for as long as I remember, he's been dressing up."

Edwards said that every day except Sunday, Wright woke up at 5 a.m., dressed in a suit with a matching hat, shirt and umbrella, and went to catch the 7 a.m. bus to Chapel Hill, returning at about 3 p.m.

He often caught a ride with Laura Moran, his next-door neighbor of seven years.

"I'll miss him ringing my doorbell four times a day to catch a ride to the bus stop," Moran said.

Wright was born in Orange County in 1917 and spent most of his life between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough. He worked in Lenoir Dining Hall and 20 years for the town of Fayetteville.

"He always dressed up, but he didn't know that people noticed," Edwards said.

Local artist Artie Dixon did a photo essay on Wright in 2000.

She said Wright told her, "I have to believe people were born for something, and I was born to dress."

Wright was very popular in Chapel Hill.

"He would get rides home from Chapel Hill all the time," Lisa Moran, Laura Moran's sister, said. "People loved to help him."

Edwards said that Wright loved having his picture taken and that he had an effect on the young people of Chapel Hill.

"They would sit there and talk to him and they were amazed at how much he knew about Chapel Hill and about life in general," he said.

"They were also amazed that at 90 years old, he would dress up every day."

"He really enjoyed struttin' his stuff," said Sheri Edwards, Wright's daughter-in-law. "He said that if he didn't get up and dress up every day, no matter how he felt, he would probably die."

Larry Edwards estimated Wright owned 150 suits.

"About two months ago, I told him, 'If you buy one more suit, I'll put you out,'" he said.

Sherril Koroluk, who works for the Preservation Society of Chapel Hill, remembered the first time she saw Wright.

"It was Valentine's Day 1999," she said. "He was walking down Highway 54, wearing all black with a red tie, red boots and a red umbrella, and I just thought he looked so cool."

Wright's funeral will be Sunday at 10 a.m. at Jones Funeral Home.

Edwards said he'll bury his grandfather in a red suit, black shirt, red hat and a red umbrella.

"He just had a ball - that's what kept him living."



Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.

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