Jacquelyn Champion Wallis

1931 - 2017

Jacquelyn Ann Champion Wallis, "Jackie," passed from this life on Thursday, March 9, 2017, in Arlington. Service: Friends and family will gather to celebrate her life in Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, March 28. Jackie never met a stranger. She was the consummate entertainer, and she loved when her friends and family would stop by for a drink at happy hour. She loved her trips to Bandera and Galveston with her grandchildren and all of her wonderful travels with her lifelong friends, the YaYas, with whom she shared over 70 years of adventures and friendship. Jackie loved Christmas and decorating for the holidays, and she loved clothes... always decked from head to toe in glitz and glamour. She loved to take pictures, and her photo albums were unmatched. Jackie was a wonderful cook — her apple cake, pinto beans, cornbread, and steak and gravy were legendary. Most of all, Jackie loved her family. Her grandchildren and especially her daughter, Terri Lee, were her greatest source of joy. Jackie was born in Houston, Texas, on July 5, 1931, to Jack and Anna Champion. She graduated from Jeff Davis High School in 1948. She married her first husband, Royce L. Sewell, on Feb. 28, 1951. They lived in Tulsa, Okla., then Laguna Beach, Calif. (she loved being a California girl!) and then in Tyler, Texas, where she found some of her dearest friends. She returned to her hometown of Houston in 1963. In Houston she worked as an executive secretary for Fish Engineering until she married the love of her life, Jim R. Wallis, in 1971. Jackie and Jim settled in Arlington where she enjoyed cooking, entertaining and spending time with her family. Jackie was preceded in death by her husband of 25 years, Jim Wallis; her parents, Jack and Anna Champion; and her beloved dog, Brandy. Survivors: Daughter, Terri Lee Allen, M.D., and her husband, Scott E. Allen, M.D.; her stepson, Rusty Wallis and his wife, Tammy; her stepdaughter, Cyndy Dollar and her husband, James; her stepson, Randy Wallis and his wife, Donna; her grandchildren, Ashley Allen Carr and her husband, David, Michael Allen and his love, Layne, Jennifer Wallis, Jeffrey Wallis, Jessica Wallis, Lindsay Dollar, Kristen Dollar and Desiree Low and her husband, Ted; cousin, Jerry Nedbalek; and so many close friends and neighbors that were dear to her heart — especially her lifelong friends, the YaYas — June Rogan, Patsy Middleton, and Charlene Kebodeaux — and her very dear friends, Valli Conine and Pat Spaulding.