Constance “Connie” Bavelas Wright

Constance Bavelas Wright was born in Salt Lake City on September 23, 1962. Connie was the youngest child of Gus S. and Helen Pressas Bavelas. Connie’s childhood was spent on her family’s Rosedale Farm in Centerville Utah, where her father and uncle were farmers, dairymen and livestock traders. She grew up surrounded by her siblings, cousins and other members of the small but closely knit Centerville community.  After graduating from high school, Connie went into fashion industry sales, working at Nordstrom’s new Ogden store and later in downtown Salt Lake City. It was while working at Nordstrom that she was lined up by her friends on a blind date to a fraternity formal with Tri Wright.  They hit it off, fell in love, and on October 6, 1984, Connie and Tri were married, blending Connie’s Greek heritage with Tri’s traditional Utah roots.

In 1988, Connie and Tri moved east to Massachusetts, where she was a personal shopper representative at Nieman Marcus in Boston. Six months after their move, they welcomed the birth of their daughter Kassandra Sophia who became the light of Connie’s life. She was a doting mother, always keeping Kassie in the cutest and most up to date clothing that was available. Living first in Quincy and later Norwell, Connie made many close friends whom she cherished.  By 1996 Connie, Tri and Kassie were drawn back to Utah to be near family and new work opportunities. Connie began working at Delta Airlines in 1999 and there, her over 25 year career provided her family with wonderful travel opportunities. The world was an open book and Connie experienced so much of it in her travels, both domestically and in foreign lands.  As a Delta customer care representative, Connie was recognized as a caring and top tier employee by both her associates and the customers she worked with. When she had to leave Delta on Long term Disability due to a brain injury, Connie chose to join the volunteer team at the Bountiful Food Pantry where she made close friends and provided wonderful service to those in need. 

As her body experienced maladies through the years Connie fought back with all the effort she could muster.  For so long, no illness could stop her. She cared for her body and loved exercising; particularly at spin classes taught by Kassie at Rebel House and also at High Fit and Pilates classes in Centerville. She became “Momma Connie” at Rebel, and was an inspiration to riders 30 and 40 years her junior.   

When her body finally said “Enough!” Connie succumbed to heart failure on May 9, 2026 after a valiant week long battle in the hospital. Her death was a shock to those who knew and loved her because she had come back from serious conditions so many times before and it was assumed that she’d do the same this time. But she was exhausted and was ready for peace and escape from her pain.  

Connie is survived by her husband, Wallace A Wright, III (Tri) her daughter, Kassandra Sophia Scribner, son-in-law Matthew S Scribner, sister Bessie Pantelakis (Terry), brother William “Bill” Bavelas (Bonny)  and many in-laws, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Constantine “Gus” Bavelas  and Helen Pressas Bavelas and her brother Speros G Bavelas (Claudia).  Connie also was a self-described “cat lady” who loved and was pre-deceased by her sweet feline crew, Percy, Sapphire, Pico, Diablo and Sunny Jim.

As she wished, a celebration of life will be held at a later date.

A web site with information about Connie and her life can be found at CelebrateConnie.com. Connie wanted any donations in her memory to be made to the Bountiful Food Pantry. 

May her memory be eternal.