Ralph Bassett Wright photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P0812

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Ralph Bassett Wright photograph collection contains images pertaining to Wright's (1903-1997) career as a real estate appraiser, senior vice president of First Security Bank, and president of Union Bank and Trust.

Dates

1950-1970

Creator

Wright, Ralph Bassett, 1903-1997 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Note

He was born at home in American Fork on March 12, 1903, during a spring snowstorm, to parents Charles Gilbert Wright and Elizabeth June Bassett Wright, delighted to have a boy as their first child. After his mother's death when he was aged 9, the family moved to Salt Lake City, where he was reared by a loving stepmother, Clara Ball.Ralph courted and married Afton Middlemiss in the Salt Lake Temple on July 5, 1929, and in time they became the parents of four sons.

Ralph's career interests were in banking and finance. In 1934, he became president of the Salt Lake chapter of the American Institute of Banking. He worked for Halloran Judge Trust Company, becoming vice president and director in 1936, and in the position helped after the Great Depression, many people who had their home foreclosed, recover their homes. He later worked for Equitable Life of New York, and his interest turned to real estate appraising, becoming, in 1939, a member of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. In 1945, he organized and became president of the Utah Chapter of the Society of Residential Appraisers. He left Equitable Life in 1946 to become executive vice president of the Mortgage Department of the Union Bank and Trust Company, later becoming president of that bank, which was afterward purchased by First Security Bank of Utah. He retired from First Security Corporation as Senior Vice President over mortgage lending in 1973. He worked privately as a real estate appraiser until 1991, retiring after 52 years as a member of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers.

Ralph worked many years with the YMCA, and the Salvation Army, serving many Thanksgiving Day meals to those in need. Many was the time he stepped out of his bank president's office, donned hat and overcoat to stand in front of Auerbach's store to ring a bell soliciting funds for the Salvation Army. He was a charter member of the Board of Directors of Deseret Trust Co., owned by the LDS Church. He was a president of the Salt Lake Kiwanis Club and the Ft. Douglas/Hidden Valley Country Club. He was an enthusiastic golfer and a superb fly-fisherman. Ralph was a lifelong member of the LDS Church.

Biography taken from Deseret News obituary on June 19, 1997