Audrey Lorraine Wright

Audrey Lorraine Wright of Saugerties, NY died peacefully on January 7, 2026 from complications related to glioblastoma.  She was very brave and gracious in her short battle with cancer.  Her daughters were with her every step of the way to tell her how much she was loved and that she was the best mom ever.  She was 77 years old.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her older brother, David Wright.

Audrey was born on March 5, 1948 in St. Catharines, Ontario in Canada.  Her parents, Arthur and Lorraine Wright (Good), were both also from Ontario, moving to Newfane, NY when Audrey was 4.  Audrey spent most of her life in the United States, but she was a proud Canadian through and through and she kept a residence in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario for many years.

Audrey was tech savvy and was into computers years before they became ubiquitous.  Throughout her career, she used her computer expertise to support young people’s education. She worked at Texas Instruments using punch cards and later at the University of North Dakota.  She spent over 40 years as a database administrator for Princeton University, working on many complicated and challenging projects.

Audrey loved music.  She went to the SXSW Music Festival in Austin for her 60th birthday and gathered her family at Jazz Fest in New Orleans to celebrate her 70th.  She especially adored Willie Nelson’s music and was excited when she got to meet him in Austin, Texas.  Audrey was also deeply passionate about animals, especially cats.  She had many kitties over the years, from Spooky when she was still living with her parents to her last cat, Sweet Pea.  She loved to travel —  she danced at Oktoberfest in Munich, ate croissants in Paris, and admired the sea in Italy.  She was a whiz with words and puzzles, playing Wordle, doing the New York Times crossword, and earning “Queen Bee” status in Spelling Bee. Audrey was infatuated with the color purple — all shades, but especially lilac.  She loved spending time with her family, especially doing just about anything with her grandsons.  She was affectionately known as Mama Llama and Mamacita to her close family.

Audrey is survived by her beloved partner, Jerry Burley of Saugerties, NY.  She will be deeply missed by her two daughters, Chris Kloes (Chris Bates) and Jennifer Cinti (Renzo) and her treasured nephew, Kurt Mongomery (Lindsay).  She continues to live in the hearts and memories of her two much-adored grandsons, Leo Bates and Quinn Cinti.  She leaves many other nieces and nephews, including her niece Vicki Fitzsimmons, with whom she was close.  Her friends in both the US and Canada will miss her dearly.

A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later time.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Ulster County SPCA (ucspca.org) or to your local humane society.

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