Brother Travis Wendel Wright was born on May 21, 1972, in Orangeburg, SC to the late Brother Leon Wright and Lady Sannie McMillan Wright. He is the second of three children born to this union. Travis departed this life the morning of December 18, 2021, after a courageous battle with an illness.

Travis received his education through elementary school at Felton Laboratory School on the campus of South Carolina State University. He then proceeded to receive the remainder of his education through the Orangeburg School District Five public school system in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School in 1990.

Travis attended Pilgrim Glorious Church of God and then joined the family church Beulah Refuge Tabernacle (Pastored by Bishop David A. Smith) upon its inception and was an active member.

Travis had a special love for football, which led him to go out for the high school football team.  His favorite players were Barry Sanders and Walton Payton, hence the reason he chose to be a running back.  Travis was an outstanding dancer, and he was known to cut a back flip upon request.  Early in high school, he joined a dance group called "Nu Creation," and they participated in and won numerous talent shows. Travis grew up in an extended family full of singers, but never really exposed his skills to his family.  However, during high school, he found his voice and discovered his love for singing, which changed the trajectory of his life.  He even joined O-W's concert choir.  Ultimately, his passion for music led to him forming a group called Phiness (Pure Harmony iN Every Single Song) with his childhood friends.

After graduating from O-W, Travis attended Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and South Carolina State University. In 1993, Travis and his friends moved to Connecticut and eventually to New York to pursue their dream of singing and entertaining. The group was able to connect within the music community and had many note-worthy performances while in New York. This eventually led to an opportunity for them to perform at the famed Apollo Theater on Showtime at the Apollo on October 30th, 1993.

After beginning their career in New York, Travis and his group decided to move to Atlanta, Ga. in 1998. They also signed a recording contract with DreamWorks in 1998.  The group's experience in the music industry afforded Travis the opportunity to work with many renowned artists, including Naughty By Nature, Next, and Patti LaBelle.  Phiness was ultimately able to serve as background singers for Naughty by Nature, appearing in 2 music videos with the group. Travis was also an excellent song writer, penning and recording records such as "Find a Good Woman," "Stand up Man," and "The Day I Fell in Love."  Later in his career, Travis added acting to his repertoire, appearing in numerous plays, including What God Allows and Wounded but not Defeated . While acting provided Travis with an opportunity to display his diverse talents, music was his ultimate passion. Until he began his battle, Travis continued to perform all across the southeast, often doing so with his band, "Trav Wright and the All-Star Band."  It was not uncommon for him to do two or three shows a night.  If you experienced one of Travis' shows, you really couldn't tell if he was performing his first or last show of the evening, because the energy he exuded was the same.  The song that best describes Travis is "I Did It My Way" because despite any obstacles that attempted to slow him down, he was determined to pursue his passion, his dream in his own way.

Travis' love for music and enormous talent were beyond measure.  However, what most people gravitated to was his heart of gold.  There were not many people with whom he came in contact that he didn't make an immediate and lasting impression on.  He had a great sense of humor and the biggest smile.  Nothing exceeded his love of music more than his love for his family.

Travis absolutely idolized his dad and big brother, as the constant role models in his life, and he was a fierce protector of his little sister.  He was so proud of his niece, Allison, and nephews, Tre' and Christian.  He doted on them every opportunity he got.  It was his love for his mother that was at the heart of his existence.  They were so amazingly close, and they became best friends.

Travis was baptized in Jesus' name in 2019 and in his final days he openly acknowledged Christ as his Lord and Savior. Brother Travis willingly heeded to the voice of God when he called him home to eternal glory.

Travis was preceded in death by his grandparents, Timothy and Elizabeth McMillan and James and Jessie A. Wright, his father, Leon Wright and sister, Monica Aiken Fields.

Travis leaves to cherish his memory his loving mother, Sannie M. Wright of the home; his brothers, Bryant Aiken of Orangeburg and Corey (Paula) Wright of Irmo; his sister, April (James, Jr.) Jenkins of Alpharetta Ga.; two nephews, James E. Jenkins, III and Christian M. Jenkins; and a niece, Allison L. Jenkins. He also leaves to celebrate his memory an adopted Godmother, Missionary Mother Lou Jean Rudd, three God-siblings, as well as a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and comrades from the music industry.

We ask that everyone follow these protocols while attending funeral services:

• Double face masks are required for everyone attending the service.
• We will conduct temperature checks as everyone enters that church facility.
• Due to the expected attendance for the ceremony, we are unable to guarantee social distancing while inside the facility.
• While this is less than an ideal situation to operate a service, we are confident that our risk mitigation measures will allow us to provide the safest environment possible.
• We strongly encourage families to practice the most reliable ways of minimizing the spread of this virus to include washing hands, wearing facemasks (even vaccinated individuals) when and where appropriate.
• If anyone in your family has a fever of 100.4 or higher, please remain at home.
• If you or anyone in your family is considered a close contact of an individual that has contracted COVID-19, please remain at home.
• Additional COVID-19 safety measures:
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