Jessie Ray Bright

Most people assumed that April 3, 1939 in Lockhart, Texas would be a regular and ordinary day.  However, it was not just any Monday.  After a little bit of time and some literal pushing April 3rd became a blessed an amazing Monday with the birth of Jessie Ray Bright and his twin sister.  Jessie’s birth changed the lives of his parents (Willie Trueto and Clara Bright) and it changed the Lockhart community.  It was, without a doubt, a blessing. 

Jessie Ray Bright was the third child of 5 children born to Willie Trueto and Clara Bright.  He was a lifelong resident of Lockhart and knew his community like the back of his hand.  There was not an area in his community in Lockhart that was unfamiliar with him, and there was not a person he met that he did not talk to and connect with.  Jessie had an amazing way of remembering people and connections and never failed to ask about his family and friends that he had not seen in a while. 

Jessie worked as a lawn maintenance worker independently for numerous years. Diligently, he performed his duties, and he took pride in his work. Jessie was also quick to inform you of all the many things he used to do when he was younger.  Then he would back up his claim, by showing you what he could still do.   Jessie was kind, patience, compassionate, generous, loving, playful, and fun to be with.  Jessie held the bragging rights that he kept all his nieces and nephews when they were young and packed Rochelle and Bubba as babies to his mother’s house. He was a subtle but strong teaching gentle giant. We also believe that he may have been a undercover master flirt by the way the ladies in the center kept moving their chairs closer to his, each week when one of his nieces would pick him up. 

On Thursday, February 4, 2021, God decided to give Jessie a new landscape to tend to and this new worksite did not come with hard labor. Jessie joined his parents, Willie Trueto and Clara Bright, and his twin sister, Bessie M. Greenwood, sister Dorothy N. Spence, brothers Wilbert Bright and Willie W. Bright. on streets of gold and prepared mansions.  He was reunited with the ones who loved him first and with his God who loved him best. 

To cherish his memory and to continue Jessie’s compassionate spirit and hard work are his 10 nieces and nephews, 16 great nieces and nephews and 17 great-great nieces and nephews.  As a family, we mourn the loss of our uncle, however, we are not as those who are without hope.  For we know that one day we will meet our Uncle again and at that time we will never say goodbye again.