Donald Alexander Wright III

Wright died on 21 October 2026 at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., surrounded by his family. He was 83. No cause of death has been made public.

His family obituary was published through Brinsfield Funeral Home of Leonardtown, Maryland. On 30 October 2026 Naval Air Station Patuxent River announced that it was saddened to share the passing of its former commanding officer, recalling his career in helicopter systems and his command of the base.

A funeral service was scheduled for 6 November 2026 at Patuxent Presbyterian Church in California, Maryland, followed by interment at Joy Chapel Cemetery in Hollywood, Maryland.

Donald Alexander Wright III was born on 2 February 1943 in Jersey City, New Jersey, the son of Donald Alexander Wright Jr. and Helen Louise (Burger) Wright. He grew up with brothers and sisters and spent time on Lake Champlain, where his lifelong love of the water began.

His father had served in the Navy, but Wright said in 1989 that he came to the service on his own through ROTC: "They sent me off to college, and I've been doing it ever since." He earned a bachelor's degree from Miami University of Ohio, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, and later a master's degree in management from the University of Southern California.

Commissioned through the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Wright earned his wings of gold as a helicopter pilot in 1966. He served with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadrons HS-9, HS-1 and HS-7, flew rescue missions from the decks of USS Essex and HMS Ark Royal, and completed a personnel exchange tour with the Royal Navy, flying with squadrons 824 and 706.

In 1974 he graduated from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School with Class 66 and joined the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate at Patuxent River, becoming its first administration officer. From 1975 to 1977 he was project officer for the engineering development tests of the Light Airborne Multipurpose System (LAMPS) Mark III helicopter. He then served as a department head with HS-3 out of NAS Jacksonville, deploying with USS Forrestal, USS Saratoga, USS America and USS John F. Kennedy, and in 1982 joined Naval Air Systems Command headquarters as development officer and later deputy program manager for the SH-60F helicopter. He also commanded HS-7, the Dusty Dogs.

After promotion to captain in 1985 he attended the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, returned to NAVAIR as director of the Test and Evaluation Division, and served as senior member of the aviation board of the Board of Inspection and Survey at Pax River.

He was commanding officer of Naval Air Station Patuxent River from 28 June 1989 to 30 June 1992. He promoted the Navy's Total Quality Management philosophy, stressing coordination between departments and listening to the people who ran each process, and concentrated on infrastructure improvements and environmental stewardship in support of the station's research, test, development and evaluation mission. He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1995 after 30 years of service.

Wright married Elizabeth Ann Wright on 7 June 1965 in Oxford, Ohio, and they were married for more than 61 years. They had three sons, Donald Alexander Wright IV, Scott William Wright and Matthew Walter Wright, and seven grandchildren.

In retirement he lived in Hollywood, Maryland. He served as a deacon and volunteer at Patuxent Presbyterian Church, kept lifelong friendships from his college fraternity, and enjoyed fishing and sailing on the Patuxent River, Cuckold Creek and the Outer Banks.

Wright's career spanned the period when the helicopter became a central anti-submarine and rescue tool for the Navy, and he had a hand in testing and developing the LAMPS Mark III and SH-60F systems. NAS Patuxent River credited his emphasis on infrastructure and environmental stewardship with setting the direction of installation management for the following 35 years.

On leaving command in 1992 he said he wished to be remembered as a problem solver who helped the base meet the goals of the future, adding that the future involved more than ever the partnership between the base and the community.