UPDATE, 5 p.m. Sunday: Bill Wright may have died of heart failure, family says

UPDATE: Death shocks and saddens business partner

KALAMAZOO, MI – Well-known Kalamazoo car dealer and philanthropist Bill Wright has died at 55.

Wright apparently died sometime Friday or early Saturday in the Ft. Myers, Fla., area, although WWMT News Channel 3 led its 10 p.m. news report on Saturday saying the death occurred in the Clearwater, Fla., area.

Kalamazoo car dealer Bill Wright strikes a familiar pose in the Oct. 4 file photo.

Wright, a Kalamazoo area resident, was known to have had a second residence in the Ft. Myers area. A cause of death has not been reported.

Wright has been the recognized face of the Kalamazoo-based Seelye-Wright Automotive Group for many years. He is known for a series of TV, radio, newspaper and billboard advertisements in which he points and tells prospective car buyers "Yes we can!" (when it comes to a good car deal).

“Bill has been a wonderful friend to me and to this city and certainly to our city’s children,” Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell, said when contacted Saturday night via telephone.

Wright was known for his efforts to raise money to help children, particularly at-risk youngsters. He was also the president and majority owner of the Kalamazoo Kings minor league professional baseball team, which operated here from 2000 to 2011.



“We are saddened for his family and we have them in our thoughts and prayers," Hopewell said. "This is a major loss for the city.”

"Shocked and saddened," is how Wright’s business partner Mike Seelye described hearing of the death late Saturday. He said his daughter told him at mid-afternoon Saturday that Wright had died in Florida.

Seelye said he did not have any information on the cause of death.

Wright was recently in the news in a pre-Christmas report by WWMT in which he donated money to help a Battle Creek family replace Christmas gifts that were stolen from their home.

Contact business writer Al Jones may at ajones5@mlive.com. Follow me on Twitter at ajones5_al.