Trying to add a payment method? You can do this on the 
Quick Take:
The man behind Oregon's largest independent grocery chain wore flip-flops year-round, couldn't sit still when there was work to be done, and had a gift for spotting potential in others.
Friends and family of Rick Wright are feeling a profound sense of loss, as they remember a man whose generosity and commitment to helping others touched many people and organizations in Lane County, well beyond the Market of Choice grocery store chain he spent his life building.
The community learned June 30 that Wright, chief executive officer of Market of Choice, died June 29 of natural causes at his home in Eugene. He was 62.
What would later become Market of Choice began in 1977 with a single grocery store in Cottage Grove owned by Wright’s father, Richard Wright Sr. The company grew to include Price Chopper and Thriftway stores, and later under Rick Wright’s leadership the company reorganized and became first PC Market and then Market of Choice.
The first Market of Choice location was 29th and Willamette in Eugene, at the site of a former Price Chopper store.
For the past 13 years, Zach Wright worked alongside his father, helping lead Market of Choice’s IT department. Now, he’s taking on a more central role, to help fill the void his father’s death left, “and to support the entire company and make sure that everyone here has what they need to continue to thrive and continue to grow this great legacy,” he said in a July 2 video call with Lookout Eugene-Springfield. He said Market of Choice will remain a family-owned business.
To those who knew him professionally, Rick Wright was the dedicated leader who built Market of Choice into Oregon’s largest independently owned grocery chain. But to his family, he was someone different — a fun-loving father and grandfather who wore flip-flops everywhere, even in the middle of winter, and who couldn’t sit still when there was work to be done.
“He definitely had two different sides to him,” Zach Wright recalled. “He was very professional and serious here at work, and as a father and grandfather he was fun, relaxed, playful.”
Rick Wright was the kind of person who would visit his grandchildren and end up pressure-washing the driveway and doing yard work — always finding a way to be helpful and productive.
Dana Turell, president of Turell Group, which was the marketing firm for Market of Choice, knew Wright for more than 20 years.
“His belief in me was foundational to my own journey,” Turell said. “In 2013, as I was starting Turell Group, he gave me a crucial vote of confidence by choosing my unproven company to help Market of Choice with its marketing. That single act of trust made everything possible — and I’m not sure Turell Group would be here today without him.”
Business acumen
Wright was committed to developing markets for local food businesses. Market of Choice stocked more 7,000 Oregon-based products at its stores across the state.
Market of Choice carried the Nancy’s Probiotic line of products made by Springfield Creamery, including Nancy’s Yogurt, and was the first retailer to carry its new butter.
“Rick Wright was a visionary and a cornerstone of Oregon’s natural food community,” said Sheryl Kesey Thompson, who runs the creamery her parents, Sue and Chuck Kesey, started. “His leadership and passion not only shaped Market of Choice but also nurtured and uplifted countless local brands — including ours. We are deeply grateful for the many years of collaboration and trusted partnership we shared with Rick and the entire Market of Choice community.”
On June 23, just six days before his death, Wright spoke to Lookout about how a cyberattack on a major food distributor disrupted the food supply. Wright spoke proudly about Market of Choice’s efforts to diversify its supply chain, and distribute more of its own foods to avoid having empty shelves in the event of other supply chain issues.
“Rick was both a visionary and a creative engineer,” Turell said. “He had the courage to foresee grocery trends long before they became mainstream. He completely reimagined his dad’s business, Price Chopper, transforming it into Market of Choice, by listening to customers and delivering not only what they asked for, but what they didn’t yet know they needed.”
Turell said Wright never sought credit.
“He saw himself simply as a grocer — supporting local farmers, ranchers and food makers. But in doing so, he quietly shaped the fabric of our community, one innovative idea and one generous contribution at a time.”
Enduring support
Perhaps what Wright will be most remembered for was his genuine commitment to helping others achieve their dreams. This philosophy extended beyond charitable contributions. He provided hands-on mentorship and support for young people and small business owners.
Wright was passionate about racing cars and surfing, and his relationship with Philippe Chagas, his surf instructor, inspired the Dream project. Funding through Dream provides financial and marketing support so recipients have the opportunity and time to achieve their goals.
“Rick has enjoyed working with people and helping them build things for themselves,” said Dewey Weddington, vice president of marketing at Market of Choice.
Weddington said there were many moments when Wright would meet someone, learn a little about their story, and then continue to work hands-on with that person to develop their ideas and their businesses.
“One of the things I’m most proud of was his generosity, not only to the many organizations that he supported, but also to young people that he met in his life that were struggling and he wanted to help,” said Zach Wright. “Philippe was one of them. He is a professional surfer. He’s a family man, a father, and he grew up without a father, and I think that my dad almost looked at him like one of us, one of his children. He helped guide him.”
Zach Wright said his father helped a young couple fleeing Ukraine get their work visas. If Wright met young people who showed promise, he would step in to help with work opportunities, business loans or simply guidance on how to proceed.
Deeply personal connections
Wright’s philanthropic work was often deeply personal. When his daughter Staci was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a bone cancer, at age 13, Zach Wright said his dad never left her side during more than a year of intensive treatment. During chemotherapy, Staci lost her hair, but the Wrights were fortunate to be able to provide prosthetic hair for her. That led to the founding of Angel Hair Foundation in 2007 to purchase prosthetic hair for kids in Oregon facing hair loss.
“These hair systems are typically not covered by insurance, and they are quite expensive,” Zach Wright said. “So my mom, Debbie, and my dad decided to start an organization to help other young boys and girls have that same confidence that Staci was able to have during treatment.”
Jeannine Jones, Angel Hair Foundation’s executive director, said in an email to Lookout, “To know Rick and Debbie is to recognize their passion for giving. It’s at the core of who they are individually, as a couple, and is deeply rooted in the culture Rick built into Market of Choice.”
Jones continued, “When their family experienced the positive impact and confidence (a hair system) brought to their teen daughter, there was no hesitation in deciding to give back.”
Due to the family’s experience during Staci’s treatment, Wright joined the board of Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland.
Philanthropic commitments
Locally, Wright and Market of Choice supported Kidsports and donated a significant amount to the Civic Park project, resulting in Market of Choice Field, a synthetic turf field used for soccer, football and other sports.
Bev Smith, executive director of Kidsports and managing director of Civic Park and Eugene Civic Alliance, said Wright had been an investor in Kidsports for 15 years, as well as a board member of Eugene Civic Alliance, the organization that purchased and rebuilt the Civic Stadium site after the old stadium burned down.
“Among all of his other attributes, he was someone who cared, and he listened,” Smith said. “I think the biggest thing I can say about Rick and his wife, Debbie, is if you had those two in your corner, you could do almost anything. And in fact, we did. He’s just incredible, and he does it quietly. He would make things happen if he believed in it, and if he was on your side, he was going to help you get it done regardless of the hurdles.”
Wright was a founding trustee of FOOD For Lane County and was instrumental in establishing many aspects of that organization’s work, including Scan-A-Coupon at grocery store registers, and Food Rescue Express, which allows food banks to partner with grocery stores to rescue prepared food and distribute it to people in the community. FOOD For Lane County’s development director, Rebecca Sprinson, said the coupons scanned at Market of Choice registers resulted in $2 million in donations, and Market of Choice contributed more than 328,000 pounds of food to the community in 2024 alone.
“As CEO of Market of Choice, Rick was a champion for FOOD For Lane County’s work, and with his leadership, Market of Choice has set the standard for partnership and collaboration,” Sprinson said in an email to Lookout. “Rick’s commitment to our work and his and his family’s generosity has changed FOOD For Lane County forever and has had a deep impact on our service to the community.”
Zach Wright said he was heartened to hear from so many people honoring his father over the past few days.
“He didn’t brag about a lot of his philanthropic work, you know, and a lot of it I’m just learning about now,” he said.
Smith said something similar.
“His philanthropy, I’m sure, stretches far and wide and probably in places that we won’t even know about, because he’s that kind of man,” Smith said.
“Beyond business, he was always quietly working to make the world a better place,” Turell said.
In a marketing video interview, the Wrights recall that they first met when Rick bagged Debbie’s groceries at his father’s store.
The couple had three children, Zach, Staci, and Sydney, and two grandchildren, Mina and Finley. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.
