Mildred O’Neil Sulser Wright, 92, of Beaumont, died Tuesday, July 29, 2014. She was born on January 29, 1922, in Birmingham, Alabama, to Ada Lee Wilson Sulser and Willie Raymond Sulser. Mildred was a retired bookkeeper and a certified genealogist.
On July 13, 1944, she married Zelma Hudson Wright, Jr. in New London, Connecticut. They lived in Dundalk, Maryland, Kingston, Tennessee, back to Dundalk again, before moving to Beaumont in 1967.
In 2003, the Texas Historical Commission presented Mildred the Award of Merit in Historic Preservation and she received special notice for designing a marker cover for the Texas Historical Commission. For more than twenty years, she had contributed her time and efforts to the preservation of Jefferson County’s history. Mildred had a deep love for the preservation of history. She was described as an “Alabaman who turned into a Texan.” She moved to Southeast Texas in 1968 and worked tirelessly to make sure that historical markers told the story of Southeast Texas’ past. Known as the “Cemetery Lady,” she worked to preserve the Magnolia and Spell cemeteries, among others.
Mildred provided the narrative for the sub-courthouse in Port Arthur and provided historical markers for the Rainbow Bridge and the P.O.W. camp in China. She worked tirelessly in her research efforts and enjoyed learning new things about the history of Southeast Texas.
Mildred was a member of Jefferson County Historical Commission, Daughters of the American Revolution (Emigrant Trail Chapter, Auburn, California), United Daughters of the Confederacy (Alabama–Etowah Chapter), Southeast Texas Camellia Society, and Southeast Texas Genealogical and Historical Society.
Survivors include her daughter, Ramona Lee Wright-Schmiedel of Auburn, California; sister, Mrs. J. L. Hollstein of Seattle, Washington; and members of her late husband’s family.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Zelma Hudson Wright, Jr.; mother, Ada Sulser; and brothers, Raymond Sulser and William Roscoe Sulser.
A gathering of Mrs. Wright’s family and friends will begin at 9:00 a.m., with her funeral service to follow at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 23, 2014, at Broussard’s, 2000 McFaddin Avenue, Beaumont. Interment will follow at Magnolia Cemetery, Beaumont.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Clayton Genealogical Library, 5300 Caroline Street, Houston, Texas 77004.
