Wallace Newlin Jamison

1918 - 2010

Wallace Newlin Jamison, 92, of Jacksonville, died Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, at Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville.
He was born Aug. 1, 1918, in Alexandria, Egypt, the son of Presbyterian missionaries William Brainerd and Gertrude Newlin Jamison. He married Ruth Dean Galloway on Nov. 16, 1943, in New York City, and she preceded him in death in 2005.
He is survived by four children, Kathryn (husband, Bruce) Eelman of Susquehanna, Pa., Robert (wife, Lisa) of Melrose, Mass., Mary (husband, Tony) Wrobel of Bartlett and James "Jay" (wife, Kathy) Jamison of Jacksonville; six grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; one stepgrandson; and one stepgreat-grandson. He was preceded in death by his brother, Paul Jamison, MD.
Dr. Jamison graduated from the Schutz American School in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1936, and was an Eagle Scout. He received a B.A. degree from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., in 1941 and a Th.B. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1943. He received a Ph.D. degree in history from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1948. Dr. Jamison was a World War II Navy veteran, serving in the Mediterranean theater as a Navy chaplain in North Africa, and during the invasions of Sicily and Italy. He briefly served as pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Indianola, Iowa, before being appointed as professor of History at Westminster College in Pennsylvania. In 1956, Dr. Jamison became academic dean and professor of church history at the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, in New Brunswick, N.J. He was later made president of the seminary in 1963. In 1970, Dr. Jamison was appointed as Dean of the College and professor of History at Illinois College, in Jacksonville, where he served until retirement in 1985
Among his many accomplishments during his long and active life, he served as President of the following organizations: the Jacksonville Rotary Club, the Club, the Jacksonville Symphony Society, the Jacksonville Senior Center and the West Central Illinois Council on World Affairs. He also served as interim pastor and parish associate at First Presbyterian Church, and interim pastor at Northminster Presbyterian Church, both in Jacksonville, was a member of the Sunshine Singers and a mentor of the Money Management program at Prairie Council on Aging. One of his latest and most widely known recent activities had been as a tutor at Franklin Elementary School in Jacksonville, where he helped 1st and 2nd graders learn to read. Wallace N. Jamison was inducted into the Jacksonville Hall of Fame in 2008.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville. His ashes will be interred next to those of his wife, Ruth, at the Fair Oaks Cemetery in New Wilmington, Pa., at a future date. The family will meet friends from 6-8 p.m. Friday at Williamson Funeral Home in Jacksonville. Memorials are suggested to First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville or Illinois College. Condolences may be left at www.airsman-hires.com.