Burton B Wright

Burton B. Wright lived a life defined by curiosity, intellect, adventure, family and an enduring desire to understand how things worked—and, whenever possible, to make them work better.

Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Burton and Elizabeth Wright, Burton grew up in Kingston, the oldest of five boys. He graduated from Webb School of Knoxville and Washington and Lee University before moving to Lexington, Kentucky, where he earned a master’s degree in Classical Languages from the University of Kentucky. It was at UK that he met his future wife, Lisa Ischer.

Burton later moved to Toronto to pursue a Ph.D. in Classics. During his second year, he realized that while he loved Classics, teaching was not his life’s passion. So Burton and Lisa began the first great adventure of their married life: they packed virtually everything they owned into a crate and a car and headed to California, where Burton pursued a career in the emerging technology industry.

Silicon Valley was good to Burton. He became intricately involved in the birth and development of the 3-D graphics chip industry and spent roughly a decade designing sophisticated graphics technology and helping bring chips from concept to production.

Burton was also an inventor, named on multiple U.S. patent filings involving computer graphics and digital image processing. His work included technology for improving the way computers resize digital images while reducing the complexity required of the underlying hardware. That work resulted in U.S. Patent No. 6,587,117, issued in 2003 and assigned to Micron Technology, Inc.

Burton continued working on related challenges in 3-D graphics. The graphics-processing technologies he and others of his generation helped develop became foundational to increasingly powerful GPUs and parallel computing and are part of the technological bedrock of today’s artificial-intelligence chip industry.

In 2003, Burton’s life changed in a much more important way with the birth of his son, Burton Wright IV, known as Chet. Burton stepped back from the frenzy of the graphics-chip world to enjoy being a father.

In 2005, Burton and Lisa traded Silicon Valley for nine tranquil acres in Jessamine County, Kentucky. There, Burton and Chet began a different series of adventures involving lopping shears, logging chains, tractors, chickens, fence building, hay making, a horse, a donkey and the births of several mules.

Burton also found a community at the Blue Grass Sportsmen’s League, where he spent more than a decade on the Board of Directors. When Burton was first diagnosed with cancer, he was in intensive care but insisted he could not miss the February board meeting.

He did not miss it.

Burton made many friends in the muzzleloading and over-the-log shooting community and spent countless weekends traveling to compete and socialize. He was also a member of the Kentucky Corps of Longriflemen.

Through all the changes in his life, Burton never really left the Classics behind. Always eager to learn something new, in recent years he taught himself Aramaic and Hebrew.

Burton was a man of fascinating contrasts: a Classics scholar who became a Silicon Valley technologist; an inventor who found happiness working a farm; a computer-chip designer who loved muzzleloaders and longrifles; and a lifelong student whose interests stretched from the ancient world to technologies shaping the future.

At the center of it all were Lisa and Chet.

Burton is survived by his wife, Lisa Ischer Wright; his son, Burton Wright IV (Chet); his mother, Elizabeth Wright; his four brothers, Andy, Paul, John and Ken; his aunt, Ann Berry; and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, Burton Wright Jr.; his uncles, Jim Wright and Charlie Berry; and his grandparents—all of whom were undoubtedly waiting to welcome him as he departed his earthly existence.

Burton spent his life learning, building, inventing and exploring. He built computer chips and fences, studied Classics and ancient languages, raised mules, competed with muzzleloaders and served his community. Most importantly, he built a life with Lisa and raised a son he deeply loved.

Burton never lost his curiosity about the world, and he never stopped learning.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Burton’s memory to the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Foundation, reflecting both his enduring connection to the University of Kentucky and the hope that advances in cancer research and treatment will benefit others.