James Wallace

October 16, 1932 ~ January 30, 2025

James (Jim) Wallace was born to Ira C and Bonnie M Wallace on October 16, 1932 in Memphis, TN, where he was the youngest of two children and their only son. His sister, Betty Wallace, passed at the young age of just 33 from Kidney Disease in Kansas City, Kansas.

Jim was always a hard worker. Starting in his early teens, he delivered newspapers in the 4AM early morning darkness, before going to school. He always gave 100% and he expected no less from others! Although he had a promising future at his second job with Binswanger Glass, he quit to join the Army in the summer of 1954. However, not before marrying the love of his life, Shirley Elizabeth Wallace on New Year’s Day of that same year. Even though Jim was deathly afraid of heights, he didn’t just join the Army, he joined the Army Airborne, because the Airborne guaranteed he would be stationed close to his new bride. 

Jim was always proud of his military service, where he served as a member of the Military Police and, of course, as a paratrooper. The latter ultimately wreaking havoc on his knees and ankles from the repeated forceful impacts with the ground. He seldom complained of pain but always struggled with the steadily declining mobility for the rest of his life!

After the Army, he served part-time in the Air National Guard and took a job with Sears, Roebuck and Company, where he would stay until his retirement 44 years later! As the manager of Sears’ most profitable department, Plumbing, Heating & Air-Conditioning, he won several notable awards, including one of the very first color console televisions, and one of the first home microwave ovens! Both were state of the art technological wonders of the day, major conversation pieces, and extremely rare in the average home. 

Faith in God was always a defining hallmark of Jim’s life. He was a devoted Christian and one of the founding members of Parkway Village Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He was married for 64 wonderful years to his gregarious wife Shirley. They made an interesting and attractive couple, with most people assuming Jim was a little introverted or perhaps just quiet. However, the truth was, Shirley had an uncommon gift for nonstop communication, and that usually sucked up all the oxygen in the room! That left very little opportunity for Jim to get a word in edgewise. 

After a beautiful storybook marriage, Shirley passed from breast cancer, almost seven years to the day prior to her husband, on January 29, 2018. They are survived by their only child, J Michael Wallace, 67, his wife Katharine M Wallace, 56, their six grandchildren, Brandon M Wallace, 41, Alyssa N Gruesbeck, 33, Christian T Wallace, 30, Nathaniel J Wallace, 19, Jacob A Wallace, 19, Z Seth Wallace, 17, and two great grandchildren, Deaglan Wallace, 17 and Tylee Wallace, 13.

Although Jim always loved woodworking, his two great passions were roses and photography. He was remarkably successful at both, cultivating a magnificent backyard rose garden, bursting with color from hundreds of exotic rose varieties from all around the world! Likewise, Jim always seemed to find himself behind the lens of a camera, taking tens of thousands of pictures and leaving a legacy of literally hundreds of cherished photo-albums of Mike, Katie and their ever expanding beautiful family. 

After Shirley’s passing, Jim left his long time home in the sweltering humidity of Memphis, to move-in with Mike, Katie, Nathaniel, Jacob and Seth, to a place he called the “Frozen Tundra of the Mid-West.” For over four years Jim enjoyed the perfectly crisp northern climate and managed to shuffle about on his bad knees, with the aid of a walker.  However, in mid-November of 2022 his (bone-on-bone) knees and ankles finally gave out, leaving him a virtual paraplegic, and thus forcing him into a 24 hour Assisted Living Facility.

Admittedly this was tough on everyone, especially Jim, but his kind nature and unusual dry wit quickly made him a favorite among staff! Losing his independence was difficult but he faced it like he faced all of life’s challenges, with grace and complete trust and faith in God’s plan. 

On New Year’s Eve of 2024 Jim spiked a sudden fever with COVID-19 for the third time but seemed to fully recover about 10 days later. Unfortunately, later that week he began feeling lethargic and running an unexplained fever, which led to another hospitalization in ICU, where they discovered a UTI and severe sepsis from cellulitis. Amazingly, he recovered a second time and returned to his home at Green Acres, but the complications from multiple viral and bacterial infections were apparently too much for his system, and he passed peacefully in his sleep on the morning of January 30. 

A special Thank You to the extraordinary staff at Green Acres of Lowell Assisted Living, especially Red, who is in a class all by herself, and the remarkable nurses at CorsoCare Hospice, like his Charge Nurse, Traci, who provided unparalleled compassion and attention for the last year! You have all left an indelible mark in our lives! 

Private services will be held with the family at MKD Stegenga Funeral Chapel in Belmont, Michigan and then Jim will be interred with his wife Shirley in the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Germantown, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Ada Bible, Cascade Benevolence Fund at Make a Gift | My Ada Bible!  https://my.adabible.org/page/947

Leave Your Tribute Message

February 04, 2025 2:19pm
We had such an amazing opportunity getting to know Jim while he stayed with us at green acres. I specifically enjoyed our late night laughs and all the stories he was willing to tell me about his belated wife and family. Towards the end is always hard for anyone, however when we're together it seemed almost like time stood still and nothing could interrupt our laughs and jokes. It was truly a pleasure meeting and spending as much time as we did. We just met but it was like you were always family. Fly high Jimbo, love you may peace be with your family and friends

- Red