Merle Blanchard Wright

Merle Blanchard Wright, 95, of 1995 NC Hwy 37 South, Hobbsville, NC, died Tuesday, January 13, 2015 in Chowan River Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Edenton. Mrs. Wright was born in Gates County on March 6, 1919, and was the daughter of the late Thomas Jackson and Mary Stallings Blanchard. The bookkeeper, and with her husband the owners of the former Wright Milling Company, she was a member of Sandy Cross Baptist Church. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, James O. Wright; her sister, Inez B. White; and by her brother, Fentress Blanchard. Surviving are her daughter, Debra Wright Hofler and husband Sidney of Hobbsville; two grandsons, Bernard James Hofler of Grandy and Joseph Sidney Hofler of Hobbsville; three great-grandchildren, Payton, Brody, and Stella Hofler; and by a niece, Maryann White Riddick of Chesapeake, VA. Funeral services will be held Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home, 304 Main Street, Gatesville, and will be officiated by The Rev. Dr. Jesse Croom. A private burial will follow in the family plot at Warwick Baptist Church. Friends may join the family at the residence. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.