Lillian Margaret Wright Anderson

Lillian Margaret Wright Anderson, 90, a lifelong resident of Gulfport, died Sunday, June 16, 2013. She graduated from Gulfport High School and attended Perkinston Junior College and the University of Southern Mississippi where she majored in elementary education. During World War II, she worked at Gulfport Field. A member of the First Baptist Church of Gulfport, she taught six-year-old Sunday school for many years. In recent years she was a member of the Scrap Iron Sunday School Class. During the early years with her children, Lillian was active in PTA serving as president and on the PTA boards of their schools. She also served as a Brownie, Girl Scout, Cub Scout, and Boy Scout leader in their troops and dens. After the children were grown, she fulfilled a life-long dream of learning to play the piano. Lillian began playing tennis at the age of 49 and was an avid player for over twenty years. She was a member of Plantation Pines Tennis Club, Gulfport Racquet Club, and a charter member of Bayou Bluff Tennis Club. For many years, she and her husband, Wray, cooked and served the tournament banquet buffet for the Bobby E. Anderson Memorial Tournament held at Bayou Bluff in honor of their son. She was a member of the Memorial Hospital Auxiliary where she volunteered in the gift shop for 50 years. She was a buyer for “the shop” and served on the Auxiliary Board. She enjoyed her work there and received the award for “Most Volunteer Hours” numerous times. Lillian had many hobbies including travel all over the world. She enjoyed over thirty cruises with Wray, reading, classical music, opera, computer games, and most of all cooking and entertaining for family and friends. She was preceded in death by her son Robert Edwin Anderson; brothers Paul Lee Wright Jr., Alfred McGrath Wright, and Billy (William) Van Scotter Wright, and her parents Paul Lee Wright, Sr. and Lillie Saenz Wright. She leaves behind her childhood sweetheart and husband of 69 years, Wray Warren Anderson; her daughters Barbara Cox (Arnold) and Peggie (Margaret) Campbell (Dana); her grandchildren, Allison Wray Lenz (Alan), Allan Anderson Cox (Angela), Jay Warren Anderson (Stacy), Betsy (Mary Elizabeth) Delisle, Sara Lillian Anderson (John), Emily Dana Mays (Skyler), Megan Wray Campbell, and Kevin Thomas Campbell; great grandchildren Wray Alan Lenz, Robert Michael Lenz, Adrianne Virginia Cox, Morgan Marie Anderson, Dorothy Ann Delisle, and Layla Hill along with many nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund, 12190 Highway 605, Gulfport, MS or a charity of choice. The family will receive friends and family on Wednesday, June 19, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home on 15th Street in Gulfport. A private graveside service will be held at Biloxi National Cemetery.