Ray "Roy" Wallace

On August 16, 2021 Ray (Roy) Junior Wallace passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Roy was born March 17, 1929 in Houston, Missouri, the son of Arthur Lee and Sally Ann (Morton) Wallace. He was the third of eight children.

Roy is survived by his children Vickie (John) McPhillips, Mark (Susan), Terri, Kenneth (Jodie), Richard (Danelle); sister and brothers Hazel, Tom and Don. Grandchildren, Christina (Kaleo) Lopez, Trevor (Kayla) Wallace, Mark Nichols, Jennifer (Sherrod) Washington, Amanda Wallace, Ashley (Brice) Weed, Jonathan (Amanda) Reid, Christopher (Jaclyn) Reid, Stephanie Wallace, Kimberly (Robbie) Loggins, Matthew Nichols, Tasja Wallace and Brandon (MacKenzie) Wallace, twenty-one Great-Grandchildren and one Great-Great Grandchild; siblings Hazel, Tom, and Don.

A widower, Roy was preceded in death by his parents, brothers and sister, Delmar, Raymond, Jack, and Dorothy McKlaskey and granddaughter Lindsay Wallace.

When Roy was 17 years old and at the end of World War II, he joined the Navy. During his military career he was stationed in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Oregon, California and Hawaii. He completed an American ‘goodwill tour’ up and down the Chinese Yangtze River while assigned to the USS Astoria (CL90).

After being honorably discharged, Roy had a varied working life. Always staying busy on the job and at home because as he said ‘days were for working and nights were for sleeping.’ He worked as a logger, an aircraft electrician with TWA and at Alameda Naval Air Station, CA, a commercial plumber, motorcycle shop owner, farm owner-raising food for his family, home builder and a CA Union Carpenter. Roy was still building up into his early 80’s.

Roy was a bit of a rover at heart. During his life outside of the Navy and all its traveling, he and his family lived in Houston, Kansas City, Tarkio and St. Joseph, MO, Pleasant Hill, Oakley, and Antioch, CA, Grants Pass, OR, Brandon and Tampa, FL and recently moving to Chisago City, MN. He was also an RV’ing enthusiast. He travelled coast to coast and into Mexico before setting near Tampa, FL for his final years.

All his life, he enjoyed competitions.  Roy was an avid card and games player with cribbage and dominoes being among his favorites. As he was a numbers guy, he loved muggings, so you had better bring your “A” game when you played with him.

Roy will be missed as a brother, father and friend. Graveside services will be held later in Oak View Memorial Park Cemetery, Antioch, CA, where he will be buried with his wife, Betty Ann (Oslin) Wallace.

Memorial Gathering 11 am-1 pm Thursday August 26, 2021 at Kessler & Maguire Funeral Home, 640 West Seventh Street, St. Paul, MN