John W. Wright Jr. Bridgewater, NJ John Wright, Director of the Wesley Foundation at Rutgers University from 1962-1990 passed away on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, the son of John and Mildred Wright. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1955 from Guilford College and a Master of Theology degree in 1958 from Perkins School of Theology of Southern Methodist University. In 1958, John married Susan Ewert, a Perkins classmate. They have two children, Mark and Nancy. Nancy and her husband Reid have two children, Peyton and Tanner. His areas of interest were philosophy and history. After his college years, John served churches in Florida, first the United Methodist Church in Bronson, Florida and as the associate minister at the University United Methodist Church at the University of Florida. Beginning in 1962 he served as Director of the Wesley Foundation at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey from which he retired in 1990. In retirement, John is the author of one book and numerous papers. His favorite avocational interests were canoeing and the restoration of 18th and 19th century county furniture. In 1964 he, a founding member of the University's Committee on Problems of War and Peace, which along with the Wesley Foundation co-sponsored teach-ins and other programs aimed at enlightening the University community regarding our involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1965, John was among the original organizers of the Fifteen High Schools Project, an ad hoc committee concerned with identifying and encouraging economically and culturally disadvantaged students to attend Rutgers. Also, in March of 1965 John walked with the Rev. Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama in support of voting rights for minorities. In October of 1966, John staged a successful eight-day sit-in on behalf of single mothers against discrimination policies of the New Brunswick, New Jersey Housing Authority. On December 2, 1969, John sponsored the first meeting of the Rutgers Homophile League, the first post-Stonewall student gay group in America. In August of 1971, John and his wife Susan, were plaintiffs in a suit directed at President Richard M. Nixon and Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird, seeking to enjoin the expenditure of funds for war in Southeast Asia. The suit came before the United States Supreme Court on April 2, 1973 and was dismissed, Dissenting justices: Douglas, Brennan, and Stewart. In 1972, on discovering there were approximately 150 Vietnam era veterans on the New Brunswick campuses of Rutgers and no Office of Veteran's Affair on the Rutgers campus, John organized the veterans, who turn in were successful in obtaining successful in obtaining Offices of Veteran's Affairs in the Rutgers Campus. Also in 1972, John formed the Rutgers Amnesty Committee. In 1980, John began the Tuesday evening Faculty-Student Forum to address questions related to quality of life and the human condition. Over 150 discussions took place resulting in its being one of the longest continuous discussion forums in the university's history. In January of 1985 John was arrested while blocking the entrance to the South African Embassy to the United Nations in New York, an act of protest undertaken in response to the South African policy of apartheid and the brutal suppression of the majority black population of South Africa. In 1983, John started the Rutgers Single Parent group. Later, the project was co-sponsored by the University College Counseling Center. A secondary outgrowth of the project was the formation of a child care center, "Campus Kids". Throughout his ministry, he had an ongoing interest in the movement from an agrarian culture to as science-based mega-technic urban culture. This interest found expression in his book, Signs of the Times. On the occasion of his retirement in 1990 as Director of Emeritis, John was recognized by faculty and friends at Rutgers University for his distinguished career of ministering and being present to the spiritual needs the University community and his courageous efforts in addressing the special problems of society at large. He is preceded in death by his beloved parents, Mildred and John Wright. Surviving are his loving wife of 62 years, Susan Ewert Wright, one dear son, John Mark Wright of Tallahassee, FL; one loving daughter Nancy and husband Reid Bothur of Bridgewater, NJ; one brother, Allen Wright of Jacksonville, FL; two cherished grandchildren, Peyton and Tanner and many nieces and nephews. Committal is private. Memorial contributions may be made to John's memory to the Swords United Methodist Church 1404 Swords Road Buckhead, GA 30625. A Rural church founded by his ancestor, John "Buck" Swords, that John supported throughout his life.