Robert Wright

Robert Anthony Wright, 71, passed away on Sunday, February 22, 2026, in his Mount Vernon, Iowa, home. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Stewart Baxter Funeral & Memorial Services, Mount Vernon, is assisting the family with arrangements.

He was born in Bloomington, Indiana, on November 8, 1954, the son of the late David Clarence Wright and Mary Ann (Corsino) Wright. Survivors include his wife, Patricia Westercamp, of Mount Vernon, Iowa; brothers, David Clarence Wright, Jr. and wife Patricia, of Dallas, Pennsylvania, and Jeffery Lee Wright, of Naperville, Illinois; as well as nephews; nieces; cousins; and many friends.

After living briefly in Pittsburgh, Birmingham, and Detroit, Robert grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. While attending high school, his hobbies were growing decorative plants, table games, and table tennis, a sport in which he won trophies. He graduated from Naperville Central High School, class of 1972. Robert then attended Kenyon College in Ohio, where he graduated with a degree in studio art in 1976. Next, he studied photography at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, where he benefited from the mentorship and subsequent lifelong friendship of artist, Keith Smith. Subsequently, Robert further studied photography in a graduate program at the University of Oregon. After living in Eugene and Portland, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where his brother, David, was attending graduate school. During Robert’s time in Madison, he worked as a freelance photographer, with a strong interest in Victorian cemeteries, rural cemeteries, and gravestone art. He presented his photographs at a 1986-87 exhibition entitled “‘Thus Speaks This Stone’: American Cemeteries Photographed by Robert Wright.” In 1988, he also published the article “Poems in Stone: The Tombs of Louis Henri Sullivan” in Markers: Annual Journal of the Association for Gravestone Studies.

Robert was always friendly, kind, and pleasant, so he made friends everywhere he lived. Through friends in Madison, he met his future wife. They married on May 19, at Madison’s Frank Lloyd Wright designed Unitarian Meeting House. Subsequently, they moved to Rochester, New York, and West Saint Paul, Minnesota, before returning to Patti’s home state of Iowa. Robert loved to extoll the virtues of living in the small college town of Mount Vernon. He obtained a job working at ACT in Iowa City, where his intelligence and great work ethic propelled him to managerial responsibilities before his retirement a few years ago.

Wherever Robert and Patti lived, they creatively decorated the interiors of their homes and planted their yards with abundant shrubbery and flowers. Robert liked a glass of good wine, a simple but excellent meal, and an interesting conversation. He was a loving son, brother, and husband who will be sorely missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Robert’s name to Hospice of Mercy.

Please share your support and memories with Robert’s family on their obituary page at www.stewartbaxter.com under the Obituaries tab.