| Bobby
Wright was my best friend for over twelve years.
He was a Native American,
a Chippewa-Cree from Montana.
He was an educator, an administrator,
a research scholar, and a Doctor of Education.
. |
Irvin
Lee "Bobby" Wright
December
28, 1950
to
May
15, 1991
|
Bobby and I met in Denver
in 1979. Bobby and I remained in close contact over the ensuing years,
in spite of several moves on my part, to Montana in 1980, then to Nebraska
and finally to Santa Fé, New Mexico.
Bobby was always there for
me during all the many crises in my life, dispensing advice and wisdom
over the phone or during his visits
|
Bobby at his home in Santa Fé
in 1988 |
In 1988, Bobby came to
live in Santa Fé for a year with his lover, Terry. Bobby was by
then a Doctor of Education, specializing in Native American Studies, and
he had been honored by the prestigious School
of American Research in Santa Fé with a research scholarship
for a year.
It was after arriving in
Santa Fé that Bobby was diagnosed with AIDS. Santa Fé has
long been a place for people with HIV/AIDS to receive quality care and
treatments. I feel grateful that Bobby was here at the time, both for the
fact that I got to spend more time with him, and because of the quality
medical care he received. I was also grateful that he got to spend more
time with my partner, Larry, and to get to know
him better. |
Bobby and Terry in 1988 at Bandelier
National Monument, New Mexico |
| When his scholarship in
Santa Fé was over, Bobby worked at Montana
State University in Bozeman, Montana for a while, and then accepted
a position as a research scholar at Pennsylvania
State University in State College, Pennsylvania.
During those years, from
1989 to 1991, Larry and I took every trip we could in order to visit Bobby.
There never was enough time to spend with him, however. |
Bobby at Yellowstone National Park in
1989 |
I made one last trip to
Pennsylvania on the train in February of 1991. On the day I had to leave,
Bobby went into the hospital for tests. The last time I saw Bobby alive
was when he was getting settled in his hospital bed!
He never really got out
of the hospital again, to my memory, but thankfully he was able to return
home to a hospital in Great Falls, Montana where he was closer to his family,
his friends and his people. |