Sir William Wright was ‘an IRA target in his time as a councillor’

The funeral took place at his son Jeff Wright’s church, Green Pastures, on the southern outskirts of Ballymena following a private burial at Gracehill Moravian Church outside the town.

As a mark of respect, factory workers clad in hi-vis yellow vests formed a roadside guard of honour alongside other mourners as his body was taken to its resting place.

The service was told he is now “talking with Jesus”.

Mourners also heard of his rise through the “hard times” of post-WWII life, and his serious illness as a boy.

“He spent his early years ‘til he was in his teens quite literally struggling for breath,” said Jeff, a pastor at the church.

But through this misfortune he developed a thirst for knowledge which served him well, helping him to become a “genius” of industry.

Despite being a hard worker, he would never do any work on a Sunday (nor watch television), and nor did Wrightbus operate on a Sunday.

Mourners were also told he went to church twice on the Sabbath – in the morning, and the night – and prayed nearly every night of his life.

Sir William spent 77 years in the Orange Order, and was elected as a unionist councillor – something which made him a target.

“It was then we as a family had to deal with the death threats from the IRA,” said Jeff.

“I remember as a young teenager lying awake at night worrying, doing lookout and waiting ‘til he’d come home in case he got murdered at the front door.

“He stood up against terrorism and was never afraid to make a stand for what he believed, no matter what the cost.”

The Green Pastures service was taken by Pastor Darren Pearson, and began with the songs ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ and ‘Saviour King’, sung in the modern style with guitars and keyboards.

Lauren, granddaughter of Sir William, read from Psalm 37, 23–32, the KJV version of which reads:

‘The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.’

After that Pastor Jeff said: “This is a sad day, but it’s also a celebration.

“What to say about dad? My father was a lot of things to a lot of people.

“But to us he was ‘dad’. He was ‘granda’. And even ‘great granda’. And yet we were all aware of the largeness of who he was.

“Dad was a storyteller, a leader, a creator, an inventor, and an adventurer. He was a genius, and he was a traveller and a wind-up merchant.

“He loved a good geg. He was always curious and so very kind-hearted and generous in all his ways. But always, always absolutely the boss.

“Even Ted, our dog, knew he was the boss without hearing it said. He could give you the best clip round the ear but also the best hugs, and the best ‘well-dones’.

“And he handed out the best advice that any man or woman could get, and told us so many times: ‘Love your wife, son, and go travel the world, make memories.’

“He exuded authority and respect and he didn’t suffer what he called ‘spacemen’ – ‘that boy’s a spaceman!’ – he didn’t suffer them too well.

“He met the Queen, and he got the titles. Obviously he was born for medals and achievements and firsts and yet he loved and championed his family, which you could tell was important to him by all the pictures of us he had hung around the walls of his house.

“He loved Jesus. And his church. And he prayed with mum every night before sleep. They never missed a night, right up until just the last few weeks.

“His life and marriage was an example set out and lived for us to follow.”

Sir William was born on September 18, 1927, to mother and father Mary and Robert, and he had two sisters (one of whom died at childbirth).

He grew up on Warden Street in Ballymena (which lies between the Showgrounds and Fairhill Shopping Centre).

He suffered from asthma as a child, which was worsened by him sleeping on a feather mattress which it later turned out he was allergic to.

“He couldn’t do any sport, so he just had to read,” said Jeff, adding that it got to the stage where he could read an entire book per day – and this helped to fuel his later success.

Once his feather allergy was eventually discovered and remedied, he became much healthier, and played for a local football club, Summerfield Swifts.

He met his wife Ruby at a town hall dance, and they wed in Gracehill Moravian Church (their 65th wedding anniversary was last Friday).

They went on to have three children, Mandy, Lorraine, and Jeff himself.

“Times were hard just after the war,” said Jeff.

“He often spoke about not having enough money to buy any more than half-a-pound of sugar.”

He joined his father Robert in business, making mobile food vans, then tipper trucks to carry stones for the expanding road network, then refrigerated trailers to carry goods on those new roads.

According to son Jeff, he read “20 to 30” industry magazines per week.

“We have a saying here in Green Pastures: ‘Some people dream of making a difference, while others stay awake and do it.’

“My dad was one of those who stayed awake.”

He had been elected as an Ulster Unionist to what was then Ballymena Borough Council in 1981, then after a break of several years won again as a UUP candidate in 1993, then once again in 1997.

In 2001, however, he won a seat as an independent unionist.

He was accorded an OBE in 2001, a CBE in 2011, and had honorary doctorates from Ulster University and QUB.

He was given a knighthood in 2018, shortly before the firm began a period of financial strife before being bought over.

But it was not earthly rewards which he truly sought, his funeral heard.

Jeff concluded by saying that today “our dad is talking to Jesus”.

He added: “And I kind of think he’s mixing in with Pastor McConnell.

“And so in finishing let me ask you a question: where will you spend eternity?

“Death is not the end. Your body is just a container.

“And when it goes back to the dust, your spirit and your soul will live on somewhere.

“And there’s only two destinations: there’s Christ’s heaven, and the devil’s hell.

“We all need a saviour. And there’s only one. And his name is the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The service ended with ‘When I Survey The Wondrous Cross’.

A funeral notice describes him as “beloved husband of Ruby, devoted father of Mandy, Lorraine and Jeff, cherished grandfather of Fiona, Gregg, Sarah, Christopher, Lauren, Hannah, Kyle, Stacey, Adam and Jack and great-grandfather of Charlie, Ella, Ollie, Ethan, Dylan, Kingsley, Sophie, Anna, Zach, Georgia, Eli, Ellie Brooke and Elias”.