Emma Wright

Emma Wright lived for many years in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood, where neighbors affectionately called her “Nana.” She was part of a community where people knew one another across porches and sidewalks, and those who knew her remembered her as a kind, familiar presence who had lived on the South Side for decades.

In the last months of 2020, Emma had recently spent time with family — including a visit to Texas for Thanksgiving, according to statements from relatives reported in local news — and remained connected to the people around her. Neighbors described her as well-liked and respected; community voices later called attention to her death as a heartbreaking reminder of the ordinary lives touched by violence.

Emma’s life mattered to family and neighbors alike. The details available in public records and contemporaneous reporting emphasize her role as a grandmother and long-standing member of her Morgan Park block. Those who spoke to reporters — neighbors, activists, and family members — conveyed sorrow at losing someone many saw regularly and trusted as part of neighborhood life.

While public accounts document the tragic manner of her passing in December 2020, it is important to remember Emma first as a person who belonged to a neighborhood and to a family. This page honors her memory by acknowledging the life she lived among friends and loved ones, and the grief felt by a community that called her “Nana.” Though public details about Emma’s private life beyond neighborhood and family connections are limited in news sources, what is clear is that she mattered to those around her — and that her loss was deeply felt.

If you have personal memories, photos, or remembrances of Emma you would like to share on this page, please consider contributing them so her life — not only the circumstances of her death — is kept present in the memories of those who loved her.