Marie Wright-Byrum

Edith Marie Wright Byrum passed away on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at her home in Sheridan, surrounded by her family.

Marie was born December 26, 1945, in Sheridan Wyoming to Paul and Edith Dawdy. She was the youngest of four girls making her father rather outnumbered in the household, which he liked to point out also included “a girl bird and a girl dog.” Marie grew up on the banks of Big Goose Creek when there were little more than a handful of houses in the area. “Distance” notwithstanding, she and the kids in the neighborhood were all friends, playing in the “crick”, running up and down cemetery hill, and picking cattails in Leonard’s Pond down the road.

Being the youngest of four girls did not mean she led a life of leisure. She was expected to do her fair share of chores. There was an endless supply of peas to shell, beans to snap and grass to mow. Marie inherited her strong work ethic from her father who owned and operated Pioneer Sporting Goods and the Conoco gas station on the corner of Main Street and Coffeen Avenue as well as from her mother who raised all four children while volunteering with the Red Cross in the community.

Marie attended elementary school at Linden School and graduated from Sheridan High School in 1963. She attended Sheridan College and two years at the University of Wyoming before her love of music led her to join the Lamp Post Singers, a group of touring musicians, who were the forerunners of Up With People. She was able to tour much of the country during the two years she participated. It was the love of Sheridan and her family that brought her home.

She married Tom Wright, the son of a family friend in 1966 and over the course of the next 6 years had two daughters, Kaelene and Catherine. The young family sold their small home on South Main Street and built a new house on the same parcel of land Marie and her sisters grew up – on the bank of Big Goose Creek.

Marie began her professional life working at Jersey Creamery for Rod Kinskey. She said he was a tough boss but one who knew the value of his employees. She began “taste testing” and selling ice cream working her way up to a sales management position. She recalled the most curious flavored ice cream was a garlic treat. Needless to say, it did not take off.

Marie went on to obtain her real estate license and began selling real estate for Doug Minick of Minick Realty, down on the corner of Main and Alger Streets. Many an evening or weekend she could be found toting her children around in the back of her station wagon, while she showed a property to a prospective buyer. Sunday evenings, however, were reserved for her Sheridan Business Women’s bowling league, in which she participated along with her great friends, Judy Joy, Betty Alden, Marion Couch, and Sue Spencer. One too many evenings of her kids sleeping in the back of the car pushed her onto a daytime position serving as a closing agent for Don Carroll at ERA Carroll Realty. As the years passed, seeing the need for this service Marie decided to open up her own shop, Mountain States Escrow and began to perform real estate closings for both title companies as well as several lenders in town. Thanks to the knowledge and experience she acquired working with Doug and Don as well as her time with Jim Arneiri at Sheridan County Title and Tom Kinnison at Wilcox Abstract & Title, her business flourished over the course of the next 12 years until she sold the business in 2002.

Another major contributing factor to Marie’s full life was her second husband, Jeff Byrum. Marie and Jeff were partners for 10 years before getting married on Friday, December 13, 1996. The pair took on the task of reimagining life on the banks of Big Goose Creek. They cleared brush, hauled dirt, planted grass, poured concrete, built fences and decks and arbors, and with ample greenery from Landon’s Greenhouse they blanketed their nearly two-acre property in flowers and trees. “It was never a chore. It was our entertainment. There was nothing else we would rather be doing” she said on more than one occasion.

After Jeff’s passing in 2004, Marie went to work for the Sheridan Memorial Hospital Foundation, under Ada Kirven. She took on the task of organizing the numerous endowments and fund-raising income for the Foundation and enjoyed every minute of it. She was thankful to be able to be part of the organization that provided so much to the community. She enjoyed her volunteer work as well. Life Link of Sheridan, Sheridan Dog & Cat Shelter, The HUB on Smith loan closet and the Dementia Friendly programs were all recipients of service. Her devotion to her community drove Marie to give as much as she could if not with money, with her time.

While there was no place Marie would rather be than on her crick bank in Sheridan, she had the amazing opportunity to travel to some incredible destinations with her sisters Carol and Marylin – Morocco in 2013, South Africa in 2014, China in 2015, and an Alaskan cruise in 2017. While they were all wondrous, she fell in love with Morocco. The food was delicious – her favorite being goat tagine – and the landscape was beautiful, but it was the warm and welcoming people who drew her in.

Marie loved her community, her friends, and most of all her home and family. She was preceded in death by her husband Jeff Byrum, her father and mother Paul & Edith Dawdy, and her sister Janet Schaffer. She is survived by her children Kaelene Wright, Cathy (Kevin) Bare, Michele (Nick) Johnson, and Melissa (Byrum) Shaffer, her grandson Charles Sickler, great-grandchildren, Desdemona and Jaxon Sickler, sisters Marylin (Johnny) Miller, Carol (Michael) Gelardi and numerous nieces, nephews, and step-grandchildren. Marie was very loved and will be missed by them all.

A celebration of life in honor of Marie Wright Byrum will be held on August 13, 2022, at 5pm “in the back-40” of her home at 505 NB Avenue.  This is an open event to anyone who knew Marie and would like to gather in her honor.

Marie was a very well-respected, hardworking member of the community she loved.  Whether working in her real estate endeavors or donating her time to numerous organizations, her impact was profound and will be missed. 

We hope you can join us in sharing a funny story, favorite memory, and a few light snacks with us.  Please dress comfortably in anticipation of Wyoming in August weather!

In remembrance of Marie’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to Sheridan Dog & Cat Shelter, 84 East Ridge Road, Sheridan, Wyoming, 82801, The HUB on Smith, 211 Smith Street, Sheridan, Wyoming, 82801, Life Link of Sheridan, P.O. Box 2095, Sheridan, Wyoming 82801. or Sheridan Memorial Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 391, Sheridan, Wyoming, 82801. Online condolences may be made to www.sheridanfuneral.com. Arrangements are under the care of Sheridan Funeral Home.