James Wallace Sr.

James A. Wallace Sr., 81, passed away Dec. 21, 2009 at The Hospital of Central Connecticut, Bradley Campus in Southington. He was the husband of Joan (Wendt) Wallace to whom he was married for 57 years.

He was born in Meriden March 8, 1928, but was a lifelong resident of Southington. He wintered in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. for the last 12 years. He was the fourth son of the late Harry A. Wallace and Mary (Kranich) Wallace.

He leaves a brother, David Wallace, of Westlake Village, Calif.; three daughters and two sons, James A. Wallace Jr., of Cambridge, Mass. and Southington, Nancy Ricciardelli and her husband, Mark, of Avon and Old Saybrook, Catherine Delehanty and her husband, Timothy, of Wallingford, Penn., Frank (Ted) Wallace, of Virginia Beach, Va., and his wife, Lisa, and Sally Lynch and her husband, Timothy, of West Hartford. He was the proud grandfather of 14 grandchildren and one great-grandson, Pace and Mara Ricciardelli, Bethany Cameron, Morgan, James III, Abigail, Erica, Rachel and Sarah Wallace, Kelly and Anna Delehanty, and Beatrice, Josephine and Francesca Lynch and Egan Wallace Cameron. He also leaves many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by two brothers, Alton and Richard Wallace.

He was long active in the Church of Saint Dominic, where he had served as a trustee since 1969 and also as a lector and eucharistic minister. He had a deep interest in sports and played baseball, basketball and football for Lewis High School in Southington. He also refereed midget football games for several years and umpired for Little League Baseball. As a member of the Post 72 American Baseball committee he served as statistician and score keeper for 12 years. He was elected to the post of selectman under the selectman/RTM form of government, a position he held for 10 years and served for an additional 10 years as a councilman after the inception of the council-manager form of government which he strongly advocated. He was also a member of the original industrial development commission and was appointed to the ethics committee. He was an incorporator of The Hospital of Central Connecticut and served on various civic and charitable committees including the Child Guidance Clinic of Meriden, the Visiting Nurses Association, the YMCA Board of Directors and the Southington Social Action Council. He was a proud member of the American Legion Post 72 of Southington. He was especially gratified to have been chairman of the Social Action Council which was responsible for the beginning of the Margaret Griffin Day Care Center, the Bread for Life program and the Southington Food Bank. His civic awards included the Jaycee Distinguished Service Award and the Unico Gold Medal Award. He was educated in local schools and attended the Metropolitan Training Center in New York City for technical training in all phases of the jewelry business. He was a partner with his brother Richard in Wallace Jewelers in Southington prior to the business being destroyed by fire in August of 1980. After that he worked at Lux Bond and Green Jewelers until his retirement. He served with the U.S. Army occupation forces in Korea, 6th Infantry Division, in 1946-48 and in Germany with the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division, during 1950-52 after being recalled to active duty during the Korean War.

The funeral was held Dec. 24, 2009 from the DellaVecchia Funeral Home, Southington, to St. Dominic Church, for a Mass of Christian burial. Burial with military honors was in St. Thomas Cemetery. Friends may honor him with contributions to the Manna Fund of Southington Community Services or his beloved St. Dominic Church, 1050 Flanders Road, Southington, CT 06489.