# Passing of Walter W. Wright



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

rest in peace dear friend, i'm really going to miss our long chats and beeyard excursions.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Roy, my sincere condolences to you and your family. I've enjoyed Walt's participation here on Beesource over the years. He obviously had the passion for beekeeping and observation. He will be missed.


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## TalonRedding (Jul 19, 2013)

I'm truly going to miss his contributions. Some of his theories stirred the pot of the beekeeping world, but he stood behind them all the way regardless of the opinions of others. I admire that trait. The beekeeping community las lost a great.


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## MsBeHaven (May 31, 2013)

As someone who quietly followed his writings; I'm so sorry. Blessings to the family left behind. He will be missed.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

So sorry to hear this. Always the gentleman, Walt had the rare ability to make us all rethink what we thought we knew about beekeeping.


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## Knisely (Oct 26, 2013)

We all share your grief. The loss of a wise elder statesman hurts us all. I always clicked on a thread when I saw he had contributed, and I devoured what he'd written in the past on Beesource. Thank goodness for Beesource, and for Walt.


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## biggraham610 (Jun 26, 2013)

Peace be with you and your Family during this difficult time Roy. I had great admiration for your Father in Law's knowledge and willingness to share. Rest in Peace Walt. Graham


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

My deepest condolences to Walt's family. He will be truly missed.


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## hillbeekeeper (Mar 11, 2013)

I am very sorry for your family's loss and you have my sincerest condolences. Mr. Wright's observations, whether you agreed with them or not, made you think. That, in and of itself, made it good to have him on this forum.


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## sc-bee (May 10, 2005)

I spoke with Walt a couple times by phone. He was always kind and willing to help...I often visited here to read his post. Thanks Walt.... and God Bless Your Family..


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## charmd2 (May 25, 2008)

I am so sorry for your loss.


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## whiskers (Aug 28, 2011)

Condolences and piece to you all- Walt will be missed on this board.
Bill


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Over the ages of time, many great beekeepers have passed on, and now Walt goes to join them. My condolences to his family and many friends. Please do tell his bees of his passing...

.............................................................................................
Telling the Bees by Emily Dickinson...

Here is the place; right over the hill
Runs the path I took;
You can see the gap in the old wall still,
And the stepping-stones in the shallow brook.

There is the house, with the gate red-barred,
And the poplars tall;
And the barn's brown length, and the cattle-yard,
And the white horns tossing above the wall.

There are the beehives ranged in the sun;
And down by the brink
Of the brook are her poor flowers, weed-o'errun,
Pansy and daffodil, rose and pink.

A year has gone, as the tortoise goes,
Heavy and slow;
And the same rose blows, and the same sun glows,
And the same brook sings of a year ago.

There 's the same sweet clover-smell in the breeze;
And the June sun warm
Tangles his wings of fire in the trees,
Setting, as then, over Fernside farm.

I mind me how with a lover's care
From my Sunday coat
I brushed off the burrs, and smoothed my hair,
And cooled at the brookside my brow and throat.

Since we parted, a month had passed, --
To love, a year;
Down through the beeches I looked at last
On the little red gate and the well-sweep near.

I can see it all now, -- the slantwise rain
Of light through the leaves,
The sundown's blaze on her window-pane,
The bloom of her roses under the eaves.

Just the same as a month before, --
The house and the trees,
The barn's brown gable, the vine by the door, --
Nothing changed but the hives of bees.

Before them, under the garden wall,
Forward and back,
Went drearily singing the chore-girl small,
Draping each hive with a shred of black.

Trembling, I listened: the summer sun
Had the chill of snow;
For I knew she was telling the bees of one
Gone on the journey we all must go!

Then I said to myself, "My Mary weeps
For the dead to-day:
Haply her blind old grandsire sleeps
The fret and the pain of his age away."

But her dog whined low; on the doorway sill,
With his cane to his chin,
The old man sat; and the chore-girl still
Sung to the bees stealing out and in.

And the song she was singing ever since
In my ear sounds on: --
"Stay at home, pretty bees, fly not hence!
Mistress Mary is dead and gone!" 

......................................................................................................


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## StingerMcStung (Apr 27, 2015)

I'm sorry hear this. I've read and will continue to read Mr. Wright's posts and articles.
Prayers to his friends and family.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Sorry for you loss Roy. My deepest condolences to you and your family.

Jean-Marc


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Godspeed, Walt.


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## Huntingstoneboy (Feb 10, 2013)

My condolences to Walt's family.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

I am sorry for your loss. Walt changed the way I keep bees. I wish your family peace.


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## Muzkrat (Apr 13, 2015)

Praying for peace for the family at this time of loss.


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## Graperunner (Mar 13, 2012)

Condolences to his family. Walt's articles in Point of View are my favorites! I find myself rereading them often.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Prayers to the family, I didn't know Walt , but his writings have been valuable to all of us .


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## Swampsquash (Oct 25, 2014)

Harley Craig said:


> Prayers to the family, I didn't know Walt , but his writings have been valuable to all of us .


Couldn't say it better myself... RIP


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## MattDavey (Dec 16, 2011)

My condolences to the family. 

We had a number of great discussions. Walt will be missed.


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## rsjohnson2u (Apr 23, 2012)

Condolences to his family.

I reread his writings several times a year, and feel honored to have conversed with him in a few threads.

One of the legends on Beesource.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Rest in peace.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Looking at the calendar of things that need to happen last week and seen the date counted back from Gravenstein Apples: checkerboard the Shallows for swarm control. I think Walt will always be the name for that procedure.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

Extremely observant and an original thinker. Practical beekeeping is better off because of his contributions. This can be said of only a few beekeepers.


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Sorry to hear the bad news, thoughts and prayers to the family.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

My condolences to the family and friends. Rest in peace WW. It is with deep sadness I received this news. 
His ideas reached far. His legacy is universal. 
Thank you very much Mr. WW.


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## johnwratcliff (Feb 24, 2015)

He was a gentlemen. I met him at a meeting in Nashville with my son. So sad. Prayers for the family.


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## OneEyedRooster (Nov 10, 2012)

Thanks Walt for sharing your knowledge and time with us. Rest in peace and prayers for your family, we're going to miss you.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Oh my God Roy, I am not very good at saying things but you can be certain all of beesource will miss him and remember him even those who haven't joined yet. May he rest in peace.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

My heartfelt condolences to the family. I'll miss his presence here. Thank you Ray for the poem. First thing I thought of.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

So sorry to hear this. Life takes unexpected turns, doesn't it. Family helps family get through the shock. Hold each other a little closer. As we do your family in our hearts.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

He will be missed. I pray for him to have a good journey.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

That was sudden... My thoughts and prayers 

Roy, what's happening with the apiary?


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## JohnBruceLeonard (Jul 7, 2015)

The beekeeping community has lost one of its giants.

My deepest condolences to Mr. Wright's family.

John


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Condolences to the family. 
He will be missed.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

My condolences. A renowned innovator - his contributions to beekeeping will live on.


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## oldforte (Jul 17, 2009)

He always traveled to the Nashville Area Beekeepers meetings and often added to the discussions. I always looked him up to discuss my colony problems and he never disappointed. We will miss him greatly.
RIP WWW


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## Jerry J (Jan 12, 2004)

WALT, Rest in Peace, My Friend. It was an Honor To have known you.


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## sidpost (Oct 13, 2015)

My condolences to Walt's family and friends.


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## Ddawg (Feb 17, 2012)

So Sad.. In the past few weeks I have been reading a lot of Walts work getting read for spring. I was looking forward to talking to him about his methods.
Condolences to your Family.


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## Arnie (Jan 30, 2014)

Sorry to hear it.
Rest in Peace.


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## TWall (May 19, 2010)

I am sorry to hear of Walt's sudden passing, I am sure it is a great loss for your family.

Tom Wall


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## arcowandbeegirl (Oct 11, 2010)

so sorry for everyone's loss!


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

It's always sad when when one of our members passes. Walt was, as others have stated, "an original thinker" that changed the ways that many manage their hives. Walt, we thank-you. Condolences to all your friends and family.....


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## Bmcq (May 29, 2013)

Deepest condolences to Walt's family, he will always bee remembered for his dedication as a fellow beekeeper and the knowledge he has passed on to us so freely. Always with us never forgotten.


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## knute (Mar 10, 2013)

Walt's nectar management practices and writeups were (and are) a great contribution to the world of beekeeping- he will be missed. I hope his family continues to publish his notes, or work out rights for someone to consolidate and edit them into a book.


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## yukonjack (Mar 12, 2015)

Condolences to the family, and best wishes for the beyond.


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## michkel (Dec 1, 2012)

My deepest condolences for his family and friends.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

My sincere condolences to family and friends.
Walt, you will be truly missed. Thank you for all of your contributions to the beekeeping world. Your efforts have helped many of us fellow beekeepers to re-evaluate the way we do things and think outside the box. There is no doubt that your pioneering influence will live on in everyone you touched. Rest in peace.


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## BWrangler (Aug 14, 2002)

HI Roy

My condolences to you and your family.

I've never met you. But I did spend a few days with Walt while speaking at Ashville years back. We got so engrossed discussing beekeeping stuff that the sun set and then rose before we finished! I've never done that with anyone. It was easy with Walt.

Checker boarding? Oh my gosh. During 50 years of beekeeping, it's the only concept that radically changed how I manage my conventional hives without disrupting them. Production went way up. Swarming went way down. And spring work was greatly reduced.

I will always be indebted to Walt. And will miss him.

-Dennis Murrell


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## woodyard (Apr 12, 2005)

Walt was one of my mentors without ever meeting him. Been reading his stuff for a long time. Got to see him at the TBA fall conference about three years ago I think. I made a point to go to all of his lectures there, and soak it all in. 

He will be missed by this beek.


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## Spark (Feb 24, 2011)

Truly sorry for your loss. Beesource will be a much different place with the loss of another beekeeper.


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## cerezha (Oct 11, 2011)

So sorry to hear this. We never met, but his method is alive in my beehives. He was a great beekeeper! It is great loss for Beesource community. My condolences to the family. Sergey


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## Terry C (Sep 6, 2013)

Walt's words will be missed , but his legacy of knowledge and bee wisdom lives on . My condolences to his family , I've been there and know how you feel .


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

My sincerest condolences to the family. I've enjoyed his writings immensely.

Tony P.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I saw this and just have to pay my respects. 

Most of you - the people that gather here - have no faces to me. Just names, but names and words that are an important part of my experience with the bees. Your names stand for countless hours thinking, building boxes, assembling frames, testing new and old inventions and watching - always watching those bees with wonder. 

Then you the time to come here to share what you've seen, and compare with others. We're all crazy somehow, but we can take some comfort in a place like this, where we can see all the names of people that share our obsession.

Walt was important for his big part of being one of those names; one of those voices sharing here.

I'm sorry that he's gone.

Adam


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## pfin3 (Sep 26, 2014)

Prayers to the family.


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## Marcin (Jun 15, 2011)

very sorry to hear of Walt's passing.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Thanks for letting everyone here know Roy. I appreciated all the time Walt took to try to help others. 

My mother fell and broke her hip last spring, so I can relate to the family emergency situation. It's hard to watch them grow older and not be able to physically do the activities they use to love to do. Frustrating for them. 

My Condolences to you and your family.


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## kilocharlie (Dec 27, 2010)

If there is anything any of us could do to help, please ask. I may be a continent away, and may or may not be able to help, but someone possibly will.

I always found comfort in knowing that I was one of the lucky people to have known a good person who has passed while he / she was alive. It's the good memories that linger, and in the circle of friends that they live forever.

Walt - have a great afterlife, and say "Hello" and "Thank you" to all the great beekeepers, famous and not famous, who have gone before us and have contributed so much, especially the Big Guy. And thank you for all that you did down here.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Every man wants to pass on what they have learned though out their life to someone younger, more naive, and inexperienced. I think Walt has done a good job of doing this. He should be very happy of what he accomplished in his life. It is a life to be envied.


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## Steve717 (Sep 23, 2007)

My condolences to Walt’s family and friends.

Walt’s observation and analytical skills improved beekeeping management methods. He then wrote and taught extensively passing on his knowledge enabling beekeepers to better understand and manage honey bee hives. Walt’s knowledge will be passed along for generations and he will be listed with the other great names including Langstroth and Doolittle.

Walt is one of the trilogy of beekeepers that the Coweta Beekeeping Method is based on.


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## Tillie (Apr 26, 2006)

So sad to hear that the beekeeping world has experienced this great loss. I never met him, but have learned so, so much from reading his writings. Condolences to the family. How lovely that someone like him could have touched so many of us and helped so many of us become better beekeepers because of his contributions.


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## MGCBester (Aug 10, 2013)

My deepest condolences for his family and friends.


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## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

Condolences to the family


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## 1102009 (Jul 31, 2015)

I just started to translate some of his papers into german and publish them in our new forum.
He will be remembered.
Thank you, Walt.
Sibylle


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