Lester James Wright was born on June 4, 1886 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. He grew up on the family farm and graduated from high school in 1905. By age 15, Wright had joined the Presbyterian Church and was active throughout high school and into college. In 1911, Wright entered the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Agriculture and majored in soils. He graduated in 1914 and then joined the faculty. He only taught for a single year and then turned his focuse toward the church and missionary work. Beginning in 1916, Wright began looking into agricultural missionary work in India. While he did recieve a full appointment to work in India, he would eventually reject the position.
Wright began attending the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 1916. In the spring of 1919, he graduated from McCormick and was ordained. Wright worked in Wisconsin until he was informed of a missionary opportunity in Turkey in 1920. He left the United States on February 14, 1921. He was loaned to Near East Relief to aid Greek and Armenian refugee children and take responibility for some agricultural projects. After several months, Wright was given permission to move the children to Aleppo. He allegedly made several trips with hundreds of children to Aleppo. On one of these trips in October 1922, Wright and his group were attacked by bandits after delivering the children. Wright was shot and killed. He was only person in the group to have died. He was initially buried in Beirut, Lebanon but his body was transported back to the States and buried in the Vernon Reformed Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
