Wright

Thomas David Wright, 88, of Upper St. Clair, Pa., and Naples, Fla., passed away Thursday, March 19, 2026.

Tom was born in Ellwood City, Pa., on Dec. 4, 1937, son of the late Russell Oran Wright and Bertha Davis Wright.

He lived on the family farm in Camp Run near Harmony in Beaver County for the first few years of his life before his family settled permanently in a house in Fombell. His early education took place in the American and Greenwood one-room country schoolhouses, where his mother Bertha was the teacher.

Tom’s family attended Camp Run Presbyterian Church in Harmony and he retained his membership in that church for the rest of his life. As a child, he was a member of 4-H and the Pleasant Hill Grange. He developed a strong work ethic through manual labor at the Zelienople municipal airport and in the parks of Beaver County, working under his father, Russell, who served as a Beaver County commissioner and director of public works.

Tom was a graduate of Ellwood City High School, Dickinson College and Harvard Law School, where he earned an L.L.B. degree and was a member of Harvard Law Review.

Tom met his beloved wife, Ginnie, when she was working as the secretary to the president of Harvard Law Review, and they were married on Aug. 18, 1962 in St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Nantucket Island, followed by a reception at Sankaty Head Golf Club.

Tom started his legal career in 1962, with the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Pittsburgh. He soon earned a national reputation as one of the finest tax and transactional attorneys in the country. In 1987, Tom and his close friend and business partner, Henry Posner Jr., formed the Hawthorne Group to acquire, invest in and manage privately owned businesses in a wide variety of areas, including real estate, paging, cellular telephone, cable television, media advertising and several radio and broadcast television. In 2004, Tom founded Rosetta Capital Corporation with his sons, Tom Jr. and Steven, to pursue acquisitions of and investments in privately held businesses.

Tom was a pillar of the Pittsburgh community, who quietly impacted so many people and organizations throughout his lifetime. He was well known for his incredible sense of humor and the seemingly endless wealth of stories he told. Tom was a devoted husband and father to his three children and was adored by his 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, who all knew him as “Big Tom.”

Tom was preceded in death by his wife, Ginnie; his parents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

He is survived by his children, Thomas David Wright Jr. (Yi), Melissa Wright Dailey (Paul) and Steven Bingham Wright (Ginny); his grandchildren, Lydia Penrose Borovina (Adrien), James Chapin Wright (Johanna), Andrew Davis Wright, Olivia Hills Wright, Ryan Thomas Dailey, Alexa Penrose Dailey, Quinn Andariese Dailey, Christopher Thomas Wright, Caroline Renee Wright and Kendall Marie Wright; and his great-grandchildren, Greyson Anton Borovina and Eliana Beth Borovina.

He is also survived by his sister, Nancy Stillwagon (the late James); his brother-in-law, Clement Andariese Penrose III (Jan); two first cousins, Margaret “Peggy” Wright Rogers and Sara McGill Christy; and numerous nieces and nephews.

WRIGHT — Visitation for Thomas David Wright, who died Thursday, March 19, 2026, will be held from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, March 28, at Faith Lutheran Church, 80 Bartley Road, Upper St. Clair, followed at 11 a.m. a funeral service.

Afterward, a reception will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. at St. Clair Country Club, 2300 Old Washington Road, Upper St. Clair.

There will be a private burial service for the family following the 9:30 a.m. service on Sunday, March 29, at Camp Run Presbyterian Church, Harmony.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Camp Run Presbyterian Church.

Please sign the guest book at www.butlereagle.com.