Obituary – Daniel James Wallace

On Tuesday, June 9, 2020, Daniel J. Wallace, loving father of three, and widower to Betty (Ball) Wallace, passed away at the age of 93.  A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 12 ^th at the Davison United Methodist Church at 2:00 p.m. with a burial side service to be held at the Moore Township Cemetery in Sanilac County, Michigan, Saturday June 13, 2020 at 11:00 am,  Due to CDC Guidelines of social distancing and limited gathering at one time, the family will receive visitors from 10:00 am till 12:00 noon Friday June 12, 2020 at the funeral home, the family understands those who may or may not want to join them and they respect their decisions. Rev. Wallace will lie in state at the church from 1:00 pm Friday until time of service.

Dan was born in Elmer, Michigan on June 2, 1927 to Rich and Ivah Wallace.  He grew up with five sisters in Elmer where his father ran the local gas station and his grandfather was the local doctor.  He is a veteran of WWII having served in the Pacific theater in U.S. Navy.  After his discharge he went to Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky and then to Wesley Seminary to become an ordained minister.

After receiving his Master of Divinity from Wesley Seminary in June of 1958, he returned to Michigan serving in a number of different roles in the United Methodist Church: Youth Minister, Associate Minister, and Senior Minister in St. Clair, Oakland, Wayne and Genesee Counties. He retired from the United Methodist Church in June 1997.

While assisting at a church in Maryland during his time at Wesley Seminary, he met and later married Elizabeth Ann Ball of Milton, West Virginia.  They married on August 25, 1957 until her passing in July of 2018, spending almost 59 years together. On their first date they went to see the movie "Around the World in 80 Days ."

That first date was appropriate; while he loved his life in the church, he also possessed a desire to see the United States and the world.  He traveled to most of the states in the U.S., driving everywhere with his family and a popup trailer.  The children were tasked with "geiseling (grabbing) ahold" to set up the contraption.  He also traveled to Europe several times, (including a trip to Poland) as well as to the Philippines, India, China, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Brazil, and Peru.  He always dreamed of going to South Africa but wasn't able to make it.

Dan was preceded in death by his wife Betty, his parents Ivah and Rich Wallace, two of his sisters Dorothy (Wallace) Jurn and Katheryn Wallace and his great-grandson Logan Rathfon.  He is survived by his children David, Marc and his wife Linda, and Beth; his remaining three sisters, Mary Ellen, Shirley, and Pat and her husband Gerald Bushrow; Brother-in-Law (Robert Ball) and Sister-in-law Mary Ellen Ball; five grandchildren, Marisa Bahtijari, Jordan Rathfon, Marie Holquist, Jon Holquist, and Brandon Holquist; two great grandchildren, Bella and Evalee, and numerous nieces and nephews. Please share your condolences at www.hansenfuneralhome.net