William Harold Wallace was born in Vancouver on October 4, 1926. He attended school at Maple Grove, Point Grey and Magee. He had wonderful memories of summers spent with his family at Shawnigan Lake, his days as a Scout, and an early job working on a wheat train along the prairies. After taking premed courses, he changed scholastic direction and went on to earn a degree in Psychology at UBC, then a business degree at Kingston University. During his post-secondary days, he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity where he made many friends.
On May 9, 1949, Bill married his high school sweetheart Margaret Anne Livingstone. They lived in Toronto, moving next to Montreal in 1954, where Bill worked for CIL, finally returning to the west coast in 1956 with children Ann, Bill and David. Chris and Ruth were born in Vancouver.
Bill worked for BC Forest Products from 1956 until his retirement in 1978. Summer holidays were spent at Shawnigan Lake and Parksville until 1963, when Bill and Peg bought property at Grantham's Landing on the Sunshine Coast. It became their favourite place and was the home of countless happy family memories. Those summer days were surely some of the best of our lives.
Bill was a lifelong animal lover, as evidenced by the multitude of pets that dwelt in the Wallace household over the years. Dogs were his favourites, and after retirement Bill spent treasured hours walking with his two black labradors, Judge and Emma, in the Endowment Lands and at Jericho Beach.
In 1984, Bill spent several weeks in Scotland and England. He loved to reminisce about climbing the Wallace Tower in Stirling, hiking the Isle of Skye, and visiting an old friend in Alderney.
Bill was a kind and loving husband and a devoted son and son-in-law. He was a wonderful father to his children. We all have memories of his patient help, wise advice,generosity and love concerning any problems we had. His grandchildren remember their grandfather as being very smart, loving to share his knowledge of history, family heritage and playing a mean game of crib.
Thanks for being our anchor, Dad. No matter what, you were always there for us. We love you.