Williard Donald Wallace

Shreveport, LA - A memorial service for Williard Donald Wallace will be held on Monday, June 16, 2014 at 2:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church of Arcadia, LA. Officiating will be Rev. Bill Moon. Interment will follow at the Salem United Methodist Church Cemetery on Hwy. 151, which is north of Arcadia, LA. The family will receive friends at the church at 1:00 pm until service time. Don was born on September 9, 1921, in Vivian, LA, and entered into eternal life on June 13, 2014 in Shreveport, LA at the age of 92. For most of his life he lived in the Salem Methodist Church community in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana. He was an active member of Salem United Methodist Church where he taught Sunday school and served in numerous capacities. When he was 18 years old he helped with the actual construction of the native rock church that remains to this day. He enjoyed vegetable gardening, especially growing tomatoes, raising cattle and chickens, reading, helping others, spending time with his family, and watching his favorite teams, the Boston Red Sox and the Green Bay Packers. He had a lifelong passion for the sport of baseball. Later in his life he moved to Arcadia, LA where he was a member of the First United Methodist Church. He was an active member of the Arcadia Lions Club where he enjoyed parking cars for the Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days. He played golf for years at Trails End Golf Course with his group of Arcadia friends. Don served his country as a medic during World War II, stationed at Kennedy Hospital in Memphis, TN. After the war he completed his undergraduate degree in Education at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in Ruston, LA, and went on to earn a Masters of Social Work from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. He enjoyed his career in social work in many parishes of Louisiana. At the 75^th Anniversary of the LSU School of Social Work he was honored as the Outstanding Social Worker of the class of 1969. Don moved to Shreveport, LA in 2011, where he and Virgie lived in The Stiles Apartments of The Glen Retirement Center. There he became involved with other residents who actively participated with the "bean-bag baseball" team, winning the Senior Olympics gold medal in 2012 and 2014. His close-knit group of friends at The Glen became a major focus of his enjoyment and motivation the last few years. Don was preceded in death by his parents, Wilmer and Dannie (Sanders) Wallace; his mother and father-in-law, Odie and Doris Singleton; his sister, Gene Wallace Oliver; his aunt and uncle, Maude and George Dye; his sister-in-law, Bernie Singleton Williams; and brother-in-law, Dewey H. Singleton. He is survived by his wife, Virgie of 67 years; his daughter, Jan, and her husband, Stuart Briscoe; his brother-in-law, Jay Williams of Shreveport, LA; sister-in-law, Gayle C. Singleton of Arcadia, LA; nieces, Marsha Mixon of The Woodlands, TX, Dannie Gene White of Natchez, MS; Helen Ann Brasher and her husband, Cole of Houston, TX; and Deanna Carter and her husband, Dave of Simi Valley, CA; nephews, Travis Mixon, and his wife, Sarah; and Adam Mixon of The Woodlands, TX; Ken Singleton, and his wife, Tammy of Arcadia, LA; and Keith Singleton, and his wife, Sherrie of Haughton, LA; great niece, Mary Ann Brasher of Houston, TX; and great nephews, Jack Brasher of Houston, TX; and Chandler Singleton of Arcadia, LA. Don's family would like to express sincere appreciation to Dr. Robert Hernandez and his staff for their loving care through the years, Dr. Donald Posner, Dr. Jack Resneck, Mary Foster, his caregiver, and the staff at The Glen Retirement Center. We also extend special thanks to close friends, David, Anna, and Addie Adams, for their many uplifting visits. Serving as pallbearers will be David Adams, Jerry Callender, Stan Beard, John Ballance, Eddie Paul Evans, James Briscoe, and Stuart Briscoe, IV. Honorary pallbearers are Jay Williams and Judge Robert Butler. Memorials may be made to the First Methodist Church of Arcadia, Salem United Methodist Church, Shreveport Community International, Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, The Glen Retirement Center, Community Foundation, Shreveport, LA, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, or the charity of choice.