Lee left us peacefully surrounded by family in Victoria, BC, at age 81, after a long and courageous struggle with Alzheimer’s. Born in Vancouver to Harold and Edna Wright, he is survived by his devoted wife of 54 years, Thelma; his four children, Lindsay (Adam), Anthony (Tessa), Philip (Kate), and Gillian (Nickolas); nine beloved grandchildren, Zoë, James, Charlie, Sadie, Lachlan, Liam, Sophie, Jack and Oliver; and his siblings Linda Dennison, Jamie Wright and families.
Lee graduated from UHill Secondary (1962) and UBC (1966), before earning a Master of Arts in physical education at USC (1968). He taught in West Vancouver and Surrey before a long and successful career as a financial advisor, most recently with CIBC Wood Gundy. He was a longtime member of Point Grey Golf & Country Club and a lifetime member of the Vancouver Hawks Field Hockey Club.
A proud Olympian, Lee represented Canada in field hockey at the 1964 Tokyo and 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, following in the footsteps of his father, Harold, who competed in athletics at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. He was inducted twice into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame—first in 2019 as an outstanding athlete, and again in 2021 as part of the 1965–66 Field Hockey Team.
Lee will be remembered for his lifelong passion and deep commitment to amateur sport—coaching, mentoring, and creating opportunities for young athletes to experience the rich friendships and formative moments that shaped his own life. Among his proudest legacies were spearheading the establishment of Wright Field at UBC (revitalizing the university’s field hockey program), leading a Hawks schoolboy team to Australia in 2001 (echoing his own memorable Hawks 1969 tour), watching many of the athletes he supported go on to represent Canada, and—above all—instilling in his children the same love of sport, travel and achievement.
For many, Lee will be remembered for his generosity, storytelling, dry humour and stubborn determination. For us, he was the champion of our close-knit family—always finding ways to encourage, guide, and support us through our own adventures. He was steadfast in his love and care for his wife, his children, and especially his grandchildren, who brought him such joy to the very end. He will be profoundly missed.
Donations can be made to the Lee Wright Legacy Fund: http://vancouverfoundation.ca/leewright
A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, March 26, 2026, at 2:00pm, at the University Golf Club, 5185 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC V6T 1X5.
Condolences may be offered to family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
This obituary is the property of the “Wright” family and may not be reproduced, distributed, or altered in any way without prior written consent.
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David Bissett
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Mick Poulton To the Wright Family, Megan, Annie and I have been thinking of you all as you have celebrated the life of Lee. Your grief will be eased by the enduring memories and the legacy Lee leaves in your hearts and souls. His loss is immense but his love for Thelma, Lindsay, Anthony, Philip and Gillian and his beloved grandchildren will never fade.
Love and hugs: Mick, Megan and Annie
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Glen McCannel I came to U-Hill school in grade 4 and Lee was in my class. He was my best friend through the years to graduation and playing field hockey on the same teams for many years afterwards. My heartfelt condolences to Thelma and families on his passing. I will never forget Lee. I wish that I could attend the Celebration of Life at UBC on March 26, 2026. I will never forget Lee.
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Glenn & Kathi Dear Thelma,
Our heartfelt condolences to you and the entire Wright family. So many memories ~ lots of laughter, dinners, reminiscing and great conversations, the August birthday celebrations, sharing our love of gardening and our last dinner with you and Lee to celebrate our wedding anniversary in September ~ just to name a few and now all the more treasured. We miss our friend and will always remember him with love and a smile.
Glenn & Kathi
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Bill & Anna-Marie Laughlin Thelma & Family, Bill & I are sad to hear of Lee’s passing but know what a wonderful life he had and the amazing legacy he leaves behind. We are grateful we had some great visits with you both when you were in Victoria. You were so loving & caring as Alzheimer’s slowly robbed his magnificent mind. He will be missed by us and everyone whose lives he touched. Love to you and your family. Bill & Anna
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Ken Beckett My Sympathies to you, Thelma, your children and the Grans. Lee was a wonderful leader; full of humour and positivity; most of the time! Great memories playing hockey with him. His sense of humour on Tour sticks with me. He did a great Sales job convincing Scott Tupper to continue with Field Hockey; otherwise he could have stayed on the Ice. His legacy will live on through Harold Wright Field.
Blessing, Ken
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David Handelman Dear Thelma and family,
My condolences to you and your family on the death of Lee. We met in the 1970s when I was an elementary school teacher in Surrey and Lee was a P.E. teacher. He came to my school to give advice on teaching P.E. I also knew him from cross country running. In a way Lee was a role model for me when he left teaching in the 1980s to go into finance. In 1987 I left teaching to go to law school at UBC. I figured if Lee could do it so could I and I remember running into into him when I was practising downtown law in the 1990s.
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Peter and Lorette Lown Dear Thelma and family.
We were so sad to learn of Lee’s passing. There were so many memories of hockey and golf, but most of all of Lee’s unique personality and the values he instilled in many others. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
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Frank & Ulla Dear Thelma and family. We send you our deepest condolences at this sad time. We have many fond memories of happy times with Lee. He will be sorely missed by us. We send you all our love.
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Tom Morton I will remember Lee for his zest for family, sport and teammates. With friends, I was grateful to share stories and photos with him over Zoom in November.
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Shiaz Virjee Our heartfelt condolences to Thelma, Anthony, Philip, Gillian and Lindsay.
I was sad to hear of Lee’s passing and I have so many memories of Lee at the hockey field and his significant contribution to UBC field hockey program. Wright Field resurrected Men’s Field Hocky at UBC and Lee has left a lasting legacy.All of you are in our thoughts.
With warm regards,
Arif, Diane & Shiaz Virjee
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Bill McIntosh So saddened to hear of Lee’s passing. Many, many fond memories of time spent together over the years. Sincere condolences to Thelma and family.
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Ian Gallagher RIP LEE
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Gary Brookes Dear Thelma and families,
Lee was a storied and charismatic individual whose path crossed with mine in so many ways over the decades: With Thelma at prenatal class (way back when), in the investment industry as rookies, colleagues for a time, then silver haired veterans on the street , and for years at Point Grey Golf Club. His dry humour was expressed on so many occasions it would be hard to pick just one occasion as a standout. Our deepest sympathies to all in the family at this sad time in your lives. Remember Lee for his many notable accomplishments that were far above what most others could only dream of doing !
I’ll raise a glass in remembering him.
Gary and Jane
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Lynn Dearest Thelma and all the family- So sorry for your loss- I will forever see you all around the dining room table together with Lee at the head- perhaps pouring some wine and definitely sharing a story:) So much love and adventure together in your lovely lively growing family always with Thelma and Lee in the centre. I’m so grateful to have been able to join you over these years. Lee stays forever in our hearts and his energy and zest for sport and life and family lives forever in all of you❤️
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Wanda Rattray Oh my dear Thelma & families!!! Heartfelt sympathy to all of you! Lee left behind such a wonderful family and memories! We will all miss him! Forever grateful for our friendship! Love and hugs, Zeke and Wanda
I am so sorry about Lee’s passing. My thoughts are with you Thelma and the whole Wright family.
I want to share my story of how Lee had such a profound influence on my life.
It started sixty years ago in 1966 on a fateful day when I was in grade 6 walking home from U-Hill Elementary school with a friend. My friend couldn’t hang out after school because he was going to “field hockey” practice. I was a soccer player and had never heard of field hockey. My friend asked me to come along to practice so I did. The practice was at the old Spencer Field where the Gage Towers are now. The coach was Lee. He put a stick in my hand and away I went. I scored three goals and a field hockey player was born. I came from humble beginnings and was rough around the edges (still am in some ways), but Lee saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself and encouraged me and mentored me not only in field hockey but in my life. He opened up possibilities that I never imagined. The opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself. The possibility of travel and even competing in the Olympics one day. I was a gifted field hockey player and Lee saw that and supported me and encouraged me to apply myself to be the best I could be at the game. My first travel experience was in 1968 with the BC Team to the Junior Canadian U-16 National Championships in Winnipeg. I was hooked.
Unfortunately, I moved to Calgary in 1968 and that easily could have been the end of my field hockey days as I was into ice hockey, basketball and soccer. But Lee kept in touch and encouraged me to keep playing. He would invite me to come to Vancouver and play in tournaments. I would hitch hike from Calgary to Vancouver and stay at Lee’s house. One time while I was there I was out at U-Hill party and it was getting late so I thought I should let Lee know I was okay. I called and woke Lee’s mom Edna up which didn’t go down very well.
After two years in Calgary, I moved back to Vancouver and Lee continued to keep me connected to field hockey even though my main sports were basketball and soccer. He encouraged me to go to UBC so I could play there and I did. That is when my field hockey career took off as the National team was based at UBC and I benefited from the coaching and high level of play. I made the National team as part of the youth movement for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Lee was a senior member of the team and continued to mentor and encourage me. We played together on the 1976 Olympic team which was a highlight of my career. I went on to captain the 1984 Olympic team and have been honoured by being inducted into the UBC Sports Hall of Fame and into the Field Hockey Canada Hall of Fame.
After our playing days we remained friends and had a shared interests in field hockey, finance, current affairs and golf.
But the story doesn’t end there. Both of my children played field hockey to the National team level. My son met his wife through field hockey and my daughter was recruited to play field hockey at Yale.
All of this because I went to a field hockey practise with a friend. Lee was instrumental in my life in so many ways and I will be forever grateful. He will be missed.