We are heartbroken to share the news that our husband, dad, Bubba, and friend, Walt Wriggins, passed away on January 4 after a brief illness. His passing was gentle and peaceful as he was in the arms of his wife, Susan, and surrounded by his children.
Walt grew up in Livingston, New Jersey, to James C. Wriggins and Arlyn (Murphy) Wriggins. He obtained the rank of Eagle Scout at age 13, played the trumpet, and throughout his life enjoyed many sports. Walt received a B.A. in Applied Science and a B.S. in Material Science and Engineering from Lehigh University.
After college, Walt moved to Manchester. He worked at General Electric as an aircraft engineer, obtained an MBA from Boston University, and developed many lifelong friends at the office and with the residents of Manchester-by-the-Sea. He especially enjoyed pick-up basketball at Memorial School, skin diving for lobster, and tennis at the Manchester Bath and Tennis Club.
In 1980, Walt, a pragmatic scientist, met Susan (Newman, Howell), a minister’s daughter. They were introduced by his cousin Jeffra at a coffee hour following the service at Saint John’s Episcopal Church. They married in 1984 and had a beautiful, blended family. A dedicated father of five, Walt often said that the best thing you can do in life is to raise a family. As a dad, he drove to swim meets, watched tennis matches & ball games, built a skateboard ramp, conducted science experiments in the kitchen, produced the family’s first Indie CD, and was even known to prepare children for the SATs by overseeing fractions and long division on paper napkins while dining in local restaurants.
In the mid-eighties, Walt chose a career switch from aircraft to semiconductors. In 1988, he made a heart-wrenching decision to move to Pleasanton, California, for a job offer at Applied Materials in Silicon Valley. But, he always said that Manchester-by-the-Sea was the most beautiful town, especially with its deep-water harbor and tranquil village life.
Over the course of his 55-year career, Walt’s jobs sent him on many business trips, and he and Susan traveled the world together, sharing experiences and making friends. Walt was fond of telling many stories of the places they had visited together.
He was passionate about science and dedicated to his work, which he proudly did until his very last days. In his lengthy career in the semiconductor industry, Walt held many roles, including CEO of Core Systems, which was acquired by Inovion and later became Coherent.
Walt was an important figure not just in our family but also in his extended family at work.
We will miss his sense of humor, good jokes and bad. We will miss joining him at air shows and his ability to detect the make and model of airplanes flying overhead. We will miss seeing his joy in captaining his boat in San Diego. We will even miss not understanding his sermons on ion implant technology. Mostly, we will miss his love.
Walt is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan (Newman, Howell) Wriggins; children Alexa Wriggins (husband Michael Sebanc), Matthew Wriggins (wife Amanda Wriggins), Rebecca Zulka (husband Bryan Zulka), Jason Howell, Bethany Freeling (husband Marcus Freeling), and grandchildren Zane Wriggins, Mariposa Freeling, Ulrik Freeling and Anna Freeling.
