Patricia Sue Wallace

1970 - 2025

Patricia Sue Wallace
Born: April 9, 1970 in Elyria, OH
Died: August 8, 2025 in Dekalb, IL
Patricia (Patty) Sue Wallace, 55, passed away on August 8, 2025, at Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital. She was the beloved wife of Douglas Gordon Wallace, with whom she shared twenty-six years of marriage.
Born in Elyria, Ohio, Patty was the daughter of Rosanne Flaherty and the late Timothy Terrell Jackson. She earned her Associate Degree from Lorain County Community College, her Bachelor's Degree from Baldwin Wallace University, and went on to complete both her Master's and PhD at Kent State University. She later pursued post-doctoral work at the University of Lethbridge. Patty was employed at Northern Illinois University as Assistant Director of Research Compliance, Integrity, and Safety. She also taught in the Psychology Department and served on multiple university committees.
Beyond her dedication to research and teaching, Patty was deeply involved in the DeKalb community. She volunteered with the CRMS PTO, the DHS Marching Band Boosters, and at NIU. She found joy in music, playing with the Wild Blue Ukulele Ensemble and the NIU Community School of the Arts Guitar Ensemble. She also loved reading novels, traveling, and cooking at home with her family.
Patty will be forever remembered for both her incredible sense of humor and lifelong generosity. She gifted those around her with a lifetime of laughter and subsequently provided the gift of vision to two people in Chicago through Eversight's organ donation program.
In addition to her mother and husband, Patty is survived by her daughters, Maeve Rose Wallace and Maya Lurie Wallace; her sister, Kelly Ann Jackson; brothers-in-law Darren and Vincent Wallace; her dog, Melvin Chewbacca Wallace; and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, and a nephew, as well as her mother-in-law, Aldebaran Frasure, and father-in-law, Douglas Wallace, Sr. (Doreen).
She was preceded in death by her father, Timothy T. Jackson; aunts, Sharon Flaherty and Patty Petronski; uncles, Billy and Tommy Flaherty, Tim Wilkins, Ed Petronski; and cousin, Jenni Markey.
A private celebration of life will be held at a later date, in accordance with Patty's wishes. The family asks that you remember her in your own way. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the NIU Huskie Food Pantry, the Huskie Closet, or the NIU Emergency Fund.