Burton B Wright III

Born

Burton B. Wright was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on a Friday during an extraordinary year in American history. Lyndon B. Johnson was president, Richard Nixon had just secured the Republican presidential nomination, and the Vietnam War dominated the national news. A new home cost about $26,600, gasoline was roughly 34 cents a gallon, milk about $1.05 a gallon, and a new family car could be bought for around $3,000. The No. 1 song in America was The Doors’ “Hello, I Love You.” It was the world Burton entered—and one that would change enormously during his lifetime.

Early Family Photo

Burton already taking pride in being the big brother, a role he embraced throughout his life

Burton Turns 10

Burton is all smiles as he celebrates is 10th birthday with his younger siblings

A Family of Musical Talent

Burton graduated from Webb School of Knoxville

Burton graduated from Webb School of Knoxville, beginning an academic journey that would eventually lead him to the study of Classical Languages.

Graduated

Burton attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, during a remarkable period of change in the school’s history. Founded in 1749 and long known as one of the South’s most traditional liberal-arts institutions, Washington and Lee had only begun admitting women as undergraduates in 1985. A popular and friendly student he experienced tv the university make the transition from an all-male college to a coeducational campus in real time. The change was significant: applications climbed sharply, academic credentials of incoming students rose, and the university’s social traditions—including its strong fraternity culture—began adapting to a different student body.

Burton and Lisa meet at the University of Kentucky

Burton and Lisa met at the University of Kentucky, where both were pursuing graduate degrees in Classics. Their shared fascination with the languages, literature, history and ideas of the ancient world helped bring them together, but Kentucky gave them something else they would come to love as well. During their years in Lexington, they developed a deep affection for the rolling hills, horse farms, open countryside and animals of Central Kentucky. The Classics may have brought Burton and Lisa together, but Kentucky became part of their shared identity—a place whose landscape and way of life stayed with them even as their lives took them first to Toronto and then across the country to California. Years later, when it was time to choose a place to put down roots and raise their family, those rolling Kentucky hills would call them home

Burton and Lisa earn Masters Degrees from Kentucky

1992 — Burton Earns His Master’s Degree Burton earned his graduate degree in Classics at the University of Kentucky, continuing the study of ancient languages and literature that had become a central intellectual interest. 1993 — Lisa Completes Her Graduate Studies Lisa completed her own graduate studies in Classics at the University of Kentucky. Her interest in the ancient world had begun years earlier; as a high-school student in Fairfax, she distinguished herself nationally in Latin before continuing that passion through college and graduate school.

Got married

Got married

Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? Could you be my partner every night? When we're together, it feels so right Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? I'll always remember that magic moment When I held you close to me As we move together, I knew forever You're all I'll ever need Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? Could you be my partner every night? When we're together, it feels so right Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? Could you be my partner every night? When we're together, it feels so right Could I have this dance for the rest of my life? "Could I Have This Dance" by Anne Murray 1980

Career milestone

After completing his master’s degree at the University of Kentucky, Burton moved to Toronto to pursue a Ph.D. in Classics. Lisa joined him there as they began their married life. Burton remained immersed in the ancient languages and ideas he loved, but during his second year he came to an important realization: he loved the Classics, but teaching was not his life’s passion. Rather than continue down a path simply because he had already invested years in it, Burton was willing to change course. Toronto became an important turning point—the place where one chapter of his intellectual life ended and an entirely unexpected one began. Lisa also began her journey into healing, compassion and providing excellent medical care for others.

Career milestone

A Decade of Innovation in California In the mid-1990s, Burton and Lisa packed virtually everything they owned into a crate and a car and headed west to California. It was a dramatic change—from graduate study in the Classics to the rapidly evolving world of Silicon Valley. Burton became deeply involved in the emerging 3-D graphics chip industry, designing sophisticated graphics technology and helping develop the hardware that brought increasingly complex computer graphics to life. His work resulted in multiple patents and placed him in an industry that was transforming computing, gaming, design and visualization. For roughly a decade, California became home as Burton built a career around solving complicated technical problems and turning ideas into working technology. The subject matter was very different from the Classics, but the qualities Burton brought to it were much the same: curiosity, intelligence, persistence and a desire to understand how things worked.

Became a parent

Burton B. Wright IV (Chet) is born in California

A Special Christmas to remember

A Kentucky Homecoming

California offered Burton an exciting career and placed him near the center of a technological revolution. But Kentucky had never really left Burton and Lisa. Now with a young son, their adopted home was calling. Years earlier, as graduate students in Lexington, they had fallen in love not only with each other and the Classics, but also with the rolling hills, farms, horses and animals of Central Kentucky. Even after Toronto and a decade in California, the Bluegrass remained the place they thought of as home. In 2005, Burton and Lisa returned to Kentucky with their young son, Chet, and settled on a nine-acre farm in Jessamine County. Their journey together had taken them from Lexington to Toronto, across the continent to California and into the heart of Silicon Valley. In the end, they chose to put down roots where their story together had begun—among the rolling hills of Kentucky.

Burton clearing snow

There was always work to do on the farm. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Clearing snow was a labor of love for Burton. The total winter snowfall accumulation for Jessamine County (and the adjacent Lexington area) during the 2005–2006 winter season was 11.2 inches. This was slightly below the region's historical average annual snowfall of 14.5 inches. The vast majority of that winter's snow fell during the month of February 2006

Memorable trip

Dallas and Jackson Woodhouse, share great times with Burton, Chet and Lisa in Kentucky

Chet 16th Birthday

Duane and Woodie celebrate Chets big 16th Birthday with Burton.

Special achievement

Chet passes his Eagle Scout Board of Review and achieves the rank of Eagle Scout. Burton had the joy of watching his son Chet become an Eagle Scout, Scouting’s highest rank. Chet earned at least 21 merit badges, demonstrated leadership, planned and led a service project for others, and completed a final board of review. It was an achievement built over years, and one Burton was proud to witness and had a central role in supporting.

Burton Celebrates Chets 17th Birthday

Father and Son, after a long day on the farm

Father and Son, working the land

Burton and Chet, share a love of the land, and each other working this land on this summer day. It was an unseasonably cool day, great for farming. High 69 degrees

Burton's Brothers Visit

Burton loved his brothers and the entire Write family. This was a special visit

Lisa, Chet and Burton Celebrate Christmas

Christmas was very special to Burton and team Wright. Burton so loved the Christmas Holidays, the tree and decorations stayed up throughout the year in 2026

Christmas enjoying the Classics

During what would be his final Christmas, Burton’s love for classic literature , shines through

Graduated

In May 2026, Chet graduated from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, completing an important chapter in his life. Despite his health challenges, Burton was beaming with pride. Centre is a highly regarded liberal arts college known for its close-knit campus community, personal attention from faculty, and strong emphasis on hands-on learning, research, internships, and study abroad. With nearly all students living on campus, Centre places a strong value on relationships, service, and preparing graduates for life beyond college. Chet’s graduation was a proud moment for his Burton and a milestone that reflected years of hard work, growth, and achievement that could never have happened without Burton passing his intellectual curiosity on to Chet.

Passed away

After surviving and thriving longer than anyone believed was possible except himself, Burton B. Wright III accepted Jesus' personal invitation into heaven, and passed away peacefully at the home he loved, with his beloved wife and son at his bedside and the animals he cherished just outside his window. It is easy to picture St. Peter waiting at the pearly gates beside a John Deere tractor, ready to take Burton for one more ride. The road would lead from his heaven on earth to his new home with Jesus, where loved ones who went before him would be waiting. Those who love Burton take comfort in believing he will watch over them until the day his wife, his son, and generations of family yet to be born join him. Until then, they will remember him at home, surrounded by love, with a tractor waiting for him just beyond the gate.

A Dad and Son Forever

Celebration of Life

In Loving Memory of Burton B. Wright III Monday, October 5, 2026 Visitation: 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Funeral Service: 12:00 p.m. Betts & West Funeral Home 404 North Main Street Nicholasville, KY 40356 Graveside service to follow Bluegrass Memorial Gardens 4915 Harrodsburg Road Nicholasville, KY 40356 Family and friends are welcome to gather in remembrance. Burton B. Wright III — Service Information