Wright, Zephyr, 1915-1988

Zephyr Wright was born March 21, 1915 in Marshall, Texas. Wright was raised by both her grandparents, Tom and Maria McKenzie, and her mother, Mary. Zephyr Wright married Sammie Wright on November 10, 1952.

While she was a student at Wiley College, Wright was hired as a family cook by Lady Bird Johnson. Wright’s skills as a cook frequently elicited praise from both Lyndon Johnson and Johnson family dinner guests, including Sam Rayburn.

In addition to her position as cook, Zephyr Wright’s experiences travelling between the Johnson family home near Austin, Texas and Washington, D.C. helped inform Lyndon Johnson’s view of civil rights. While Johnson was a Senator, Wright refused to travel to Austin citing the conditions she and her husband faced trying to find food and lodging in the segregated south. Zephyr Wright attended the signing ceremony of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was one of the recipients of the signing pens used by Lyndon Johnson to sign the Bill.

Zephyr Wright retired from her role as family cook when the Johnson’s left Washington, D.C. after the Johnson presidency. She and her husband, Sammie Wright, remained in Washington, D.C. while the Johnson’s returned to their home in Texas.

Zephyr Wright died on April 25, 1988.