Linda Ellen Wright

Linda Ellen Wright, a long-time resident of Elmira, NY, passed away peacefully of natural causes on the morning of April 11, 2025 at Arnot Ogden Medical Center at the age of 82.

She was born in Elmira, NY to Marcus and Helen (Eaton) Wright on March 4, 1943. She found her passion at a young age and followed a path to her nursing career, graduating from Arnot Ogden Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and eventually earning her Master of Nursing from Syracuse University.  She worked tirelessly at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, primarily in the Infant Care Ward, spending some shifts in Cardiology and other departments.  Although she never had children of her own, she took a personal interest in babies that required intensive care, and she became a key figure in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Linda was specially trained in Richmond, VA to help enhance the services of Arnot Ogden’s NICU and the skills and information she brought back helped contribute to Arnot Ogden being the only Level III NICU serving Chemung and seven neighboring counties today.

Her passion for helping others extended to her recognizing that she could only do so much as one person and she pivoted to teaching nursing at the Arnot Ogden Memorial Hospital School of Nursing to help train those who would be providing care and life saving services to the next generation.  Linda found great friendships through her work and community and was blessed to have spent so much time with so many people that mattered so much to her.  When not working, she took several “trips of a lifetime” with her friends that she would often talk about with her family.

An avid reader, she would devour entire series of books once she found an author whose work she enjoyed.  Linda took that same level of commitment to following a storyline to the end with her love of daytime soap operas, specifically The Young and the Restless and General Hospital.  Since she primarily worked nights, she was able enjoy these fictional dramas during her days.  She loved to garden and keep her grounds immaculate when she was physically able.  Linda was an incredibly passionate sports fan, setting aside time every Sunday to watch her Buffalo Bills during football season and catching New York Mets games as her schedule allowed.  Those who knew Linda also knew she loved cats and provided a loving and caring home for many of them throughout her lifetime.

Linda was preceded in death by: her parents Helen Marie (Eaton) Wright and Marcus Alton Wright; and her sister Janet Elieen Wright.  She is survived by: her nephew Henry Cook III; her nieces - Heather Barrett and Helen Figueroa; and her nephew and nieces’ children - Christopher Cook, Bryan Cook, Nicole Barrett, Donovan Barrett, Marissa Figueroa, John Figueroa and Zolanich Figueroa.

The family will receive visitors on Wednesday, April 16 from 4:00 PM until 6:00 pm at Olthof Funeral Home, 1050 Pennsylvania Avenue in Elmira, NY.  A special honors ceremony will be rendered by the Southern Tier Nurses Honor Guard beginning at approximately 5:50 PM to conclude calling hours.  A funeral service will take place the following day, Thursday, April 17 at 10:00 AM at North Presbyterian Church, 921 College Avenue, also in Elmira. Interment will follow, with a brief burial service at her final resting place at Indian Mounds Cemetery in Moravia, NY at approximately 12:45pm.

In lieu of flowers, given Linda’s wide variety of interests and the many charities she supported, the family has suggested picking a charity that means something to you and placing a donation in Linda’s name.  In would mean a lot to her to know that charitable actions in her name continued beyond her life.