SKOWHEGAN – Carl Roger Wright, 83, died Friday, Dec. 5, in the company of his family.

Born in Pittsfield, Jan. 25, 1925, the son of Perley A. Wright and Velma Merrithew Wright, he graduated from Maine Central Institute in 1943, and Colby College in 1947. He earned his law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1950.

For five decades, Carl was a famously effective Skowhegan attorney who tried thousands of cases throughout Central Maine and left a loyal following of many clients.

He was enthusiastic about sports, particularly baseball, and at one point in his life was able to attend every single World Series game for 24 consecutive seasons.

As a young child victimized by polio, he overcame his disability to become a renowned athlete. While a secondary school student at MCI, he participated in basketball, baseball, orchestra, debating and prize-speaking and was president of the Hi-Y Club.

At Colby, he won his “C” letter in basketball in 1945 to 1946, and in baseball in 1946 to 1947, after pitching a no-hit, no-run game. In his senior year he pitched a record of seven wins and no losses. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, president of the Student Christian Association and a member of the drama club, Powder and Wig.

He was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1951, and to the U.S. District Court of Maine in 1952. He was a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association beginning in 1970, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers beginning in 1968, a member of the Somerset County Bar Association beginning in 1951, serving as its president from 1964 to 1966.

He served on the State Bar Association’s Committee on medical-legal affairs from 1964 to 1980, on the Legal Education and Admissions Committee from 1960 to1980; on the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules from 1969 to1977, and on the Governing Subcommittee on Grievance from 1975 to 1980.

He was a member of the Maine Bar Board of Governors from 1970 to 1971. He was third vice president of the Maine Bar Association in 1970, and a member of the Maine Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors from 1968 to 1974.

In civic affairs, he was Chairman of the Board of Assessors for the Town of Cornville from 1956 to 1960 and a Trustee of Cornville Schools from 1957 to 1960. He chaired the Colby College Alumni Council from 1964 to 1966 and served as a Colby College overseer from 1980 to1986.

He was honored by the Colby Varsity “C” Club in 1968. For many years beginning in 1974, he was a trustee of Maine Central Institute. In 1999, he was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame because of his pitching career at Colby.

Pursuing his deep interest in youth organizations, he served as president of the Richard Sampson Youth Center in Skowhegan and coached Little League for four years, Babe Ruth for four years, and an American Legion team for three years. Carl and his brother Clifford were the primary movers and contributors for the Wright Gymnasium of Pittsfield. During the 1990s, Carl was the primary force behind building three Little League fields in Skowhegan.

Carl was a member of Masonic Lodge 34 in Skowhegan, a member of Royal Arch Masons, Knights Templar and Kora Temple, Lewiston, a member of Skowhegan Rotary, serving as its president in 1956, and a lifetime member of the Skowhegan Fair Association.

He leaves his wife, Rita E. Wright, two adult children and their mother, his first wife, Barbara Harthorn of Skowhegan. He leaves a daughter, Terry Lynne Watson and her companion, Loren Walker Jr., of Madison; and a son, Randy Brent Wright and his companion, Julie Myers, and her son, Alex, of Cornville. He had three grandchildren, Brent Roger Wright and Brian Joseph Wright and the late Brady Owen Wright. He leaves three great-grandchildren, Gabrielle Wright, Mason Wright and Mackenzie Wright; six nieces and nephews, Gregory Trent Wright of Hartland, Tamra Monette of Newport, Neil G. Wright II of Burnham, Randa Wright of Danville, Calif., and Scott Perley Wright of Athol, Idaho and Judith Forsythe of Providence Forge, Va.

Carl had two brothers, Clifford L. Wright, late of Pittsfield and Neil G. Wright, late of Pittsfield; and one sister, Virginia W. Sappington, late of Houston, Texas.