| William C Wallace 1918 - 1998 |
Fourteenth Census of the United States - 1920 Suffolk City, Virginia Eustace Wallace 26 Head S Blanche 29 Wife E J Jr 3 2/12 Son William C 1 8/12 Son Mildred B 5/12 DauFifteenth Census of the United States - 1930 Suffolk City, Virginia Name Age Relation Birthplace F Birthplace M Birthplace E Jack Wallace 36 Head N Carolina N Carolina N Carolina Sarah Blanche 39 Wife N Carolina N Carolina N Carolina E Jack Jr 13 Son Virginia N Carolina N Carolina W Curtis 12 Son Virginia N Carolina N Carolina Mildred B 10 Dau Virginia N Carolina N Carolina
Name: William C. Wallace SSN: 226-07-4531 Last Residence: 21146 Severna Park, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States of America Born: 18 Mar 1918 Last Benefit: 21146 Severna Park, Anne Arundel, Maryland, United States of America Died: 12 Sep 1998 State (Year) SSN issued: Virginia (Before 1951 )
Personal Remembrances of William Curtis Wallace by Wayne Hepburn, August 2007 When I was sixteen I was dating Sharron Wallace, (then known by her stepfather's surname LeBouef, later changing back to her birth name.) 1963 - First Meeting After a time of dating we were "going steady" as such relationships were called by adolescents in 1950s America. On a school night in 1953 we returned from ostensibly doing homework at the library, to her home on Roger Williams Street in New Orleans where Sharron lived with her mother Lorraine, stepfather Bill, and two half brothers from the LeBouef marriage, Gene and Alan. The living room was well lighted, outside lights were on, and a strange automobile was parked at the curb. We went inside and I was introduced to Major Wallace, Sharron's father, and his wife of the time, Dee. My visit was brief. Sharron had not seen her father since she was age eight and they had a lot of catching up to do so I excused myself. The essence of the visit from Dad was this: he was on his way to a billet in West Germany and wanted Sharron to go with his family and complete high school there. Had she gone, my descendants and their ancestors would have been other people instead of who they are. Three years later Sharron and I married, and William Wallace became my father-in-law for seventeen years. 1960 Gift In 1959, Sharron's Gleichman grandparents made us a gift of one thousand dollars to help us buy a house of our own. We needed more for a down payment on FHA financing. Sharron wrote to her dad who was stationed near Muncie, Indiana. He set us a check for twelve hundred dollars. A gift, not a loan, which altered our lives for the better. Our fortunes changed in various ways. In 1969 I was employed by Keever Starch Company in Columbus, Ohio. The Wallaces were then at Fort Meade, and living in Glen Burnie, Maryland. We did not have much relationship with her father; actually, they were somewhat estranged. 1969 Visit to Maryland Keever was sold to Philadelphia Quartz Co. (known in the industry as PQ) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was required to undergo training in the methods of PQ and went off to Philadelphia and New York for two weeks, the first in Philadelphia-New Jersey, the second in New Jersey-New York. The weekend was my own and I impulsively made plans. I called Colonel Wallace (his rank had increased) at home in Maryland and asked if I could visit for the weekend. He was delighted. I then called Sharron and persuaded her to fly to Baltimore for the weekend with me between my training weeks. My mother agreed to keep our four children. We had a splendid weekend. I got to meet his children Wendy, Hal and Denise. When I left for New York, instead of dropping Sharron at the airport, I left her with her dad for a longer visit. It was a healing time for them. We moved from New Orleans to Chicagoland in 1970. In the summer of 1972 Sharron left me, and except for a visit to move things for her and our children, she did not return. My father-in-law contacted me and commiserated with me but finally accepted that he could do nothing to prevent our impending divorce. 1973 Meetings in Valley Forge and Annapolis I was then promoted and commuting quarterly to Philadelphia and made contact with him. In 1973 I relocated to Philadelphia where I lived at Old Forge Crossing in Devon, PA, across from Valley Forge National Park. During my brief two year stay in the Philadelphia area I got together with Bill (he invited me to call him Bill as I got older) several times. We would meet at Annapolis where he spent his days after retirement as a property appraiser in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. When these visits were going on, I had absolutely no idea that I was treading on ground where my ancestors lived. Bill came to Valley Forge at Christmas 1973 to spend some time with his grandchildren, (three of my children), who were visiting from Louisiana for Christmas. 1984 Navy Commissioning The next, and final time for me to see Bill Wallace was in College Station, Texas, when my son Laird Hepburn graduated from Texas A&M. Laird had served four years in the college Corps program. Upon graduation he was commissioned an officer in the United States Navy. He had invited his grandfather to do the honors. Happily, he and his daughter were fully reconciled. Sharron made some trips to Maryland and got to see him several times during his last years. 1998 At age eighty and in failing health, the old soldier finally gave it up. He was an honorable man and person; a straight shooter. I'm grateful to have known him. William C. Wallace was a career soldier in the United States Army. He served thirty years and retired a Full Colonel. He served honorably in World War II and in Korea, and was heavily decorated for his military bravery. A memorial to him is on the web site WWII Memorial.com. His remains are interred at Arlington National Cemetery. A personal tribute to him is at findagrave.com. 
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Bill Wallace at Annapolis - 1973
Bill Wallace - center - 1973 in Devon, PA at Christmas time with grandchildren Kirk, Laird & Lisa Hepburn
1984 in College Station, TX with grandsons Laird & Mark Hepburn at Laird's Military Commissioning
1984 in College Station, TX with grandson Laird & Laird's stepmom Kathy Hepburn
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