William (Bill) Hagood Wallace, Sr., 87, of Bryceville passed away 8 October 2020 after a lengthy and hard fought battle with cancer. He was born in Halifax, Virginia on 27 August 1933 to William Thomas Wallace and Elnora Loyd Wallace. He will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.
Bill enlisted in the US Navy in 1950, serving in the Korean War on the Heavy Cruiser, USS Rochester, where he remained until his honorable discharge in 1957. He was proud of his service to his country.
He moved to Jacksonville in 1959 and worked for Jacksonville Paper Company, more recently known as Unijax or Unisource for 25 years as a supervisor in their envelop division. He announced retirement, but then worked another 10 years for Maywell Paper Company before finally hanging up his work goggles. After retirement, he lived on his houseboat on the west side of Jacksonville for several years before settling down in Bryceville in 2007. His neighbors often saw him mowing his lawn with his dog riding in a basket on the hood of the lawnmower.
Bill loved all types of sports, especially fishing and Nascar. He named his pet poodle Rusty Wallace. At every chance he got he would talk to total strangers in the grocery store about his dog, Rusty, and the fact that he had been on 87 cruises. He loved to gamble and the cruise line loved him. He loved life.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Prince (Annie) Wallace, his son Jerry (Tammy) Horton, and his daughter Peggy (Jack) Crews. He is survived by his brother Lewis (Mary) Wallace of Prattville, Alabama, his sister Ruth (Thedford) Spencer of Bassett, Virginia; 3 sons Joel (Linda) Horton, Randy (Nancy) Horton, William (Anne) Wallace, Jr., and daughter Kathy (Gene) Auton; 15 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, generations of nieces and nephews, and his faithful dog, Rusty.
Visitation will be held 13 October from 6-8pm at Giddens-Reed Funeral Home in Baldwin, Florida. Interment will be 14 October at 11am at the Jacksonville National Cemetery on Lannie Road in Jacksonville.
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