Tom Wright, Wright Tire Service founder and longtime Tire Industry Association board member, died Aug. 25 after a long battle with cancer. He was 74.
Wright spent more than 50 years in the tire industry. He began his career with the former Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. where he eventually became a store manager and then a sales manager for about 400 stores. In 1975, Wright opened Wright Tire Service in Anoka, Minn., which is still in operation today.
Wright also spent 39 years as a board member of the National Tire Dealers and Retreaters Association, Tire Association of North America and TIA. As an executive officer of TANA, Wright was instrumental in the formation of TIA by merging TANA and the International Tire and Rubber Association. As president of the North Central Tire Dealers and Suppliers Association in 1979, he worked with legislature to get a scrap tire resolution.
In 2014, Wright was honored with the Ed Wagner Leadership Award at the Tire Industry Honors Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas.
Wright is survived by his wife Janice; son Thomas Jr.; daughter Karla Thomsen; son-in-law Steven Hunt; 11 grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and brothers Brent and Jerre Wright. His daughter Shannon Hunt and brother Jay Wright preceded him in death.
