Richard Wallace's Obituary
Richard Edward WallaceNASHVILLE, TNOctober 25, 1946 – October 15, 2018.Widely known as ‘The Landman’, Richard had a passion for life that was evident the moment you met him. His ability to brighten up a room due to his ever positive attitude was unmatched. He made friends everywhere he went because, as he often said, he loved people. Richard was born on October 25, 1946 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Memphis, TN to his parents Nicholas Burdette and Elizabeth Ann Wallace. He was a an active member of the Roman Catholic Church and enjoyed attending Mass daily.During Richard’s early adulthood, his older brother, Nicholas “Nick” purchased a hotel on Antigua in the British West Indies. Richard decided a move to the West Indies was a reasonable idea, naturally. During his time in Antigua, he would open a catamaran charter service that provided sailing tours featuring his homemade fried chicken, freshly cooked on the boat. For a brief period, Richard also lived in New York City where he tried his hand in the financial district, and often mentioned his love of frequenting Rangers and Yankees games throughout the 1970s.Richard returned home to Memphis and in 1977 he created Richard Wallace & Company, a successful residential real estate firm that thrived throughout the 80s and 90s. And in 1988, Richard’s daughter Caroline was born, also at St Joseph’s Hospital in Memphis. On the day she came into the world, one of the first things he did was call FM 100 and have his DJ friends play ‘Sweet Caroline’ on the radio in her honor. Above all, becoming a father was unquestionably his proudest achievement. His enthusiasm over being Caroline’s father never waned, and on the day he died, he was talking about how proud he was of her.Richard’s work eventually transitioned into commercial real estate which he successfully carried out throughout much of the Mid-South. Eventually, he would become a licensed realtor in six states and enjoyed working deals all over and wherever he saw opportunity. His specialty was making the deal work, no matter what. Richard left Memphis in 2009 to live in Orange Beach, AL and, subsequently, to New Orleans, LA for various amounts of time before making a final move to Nashville so that he could be closer to his daughter and continue to stir up business in Middle Tennessee.Richard was preceded in death by his father, Nicholas, his mother, Elizabeth, and his older brother, Nick Wallace. He is survived by his daughter, Caroline Elizabeth Wallace of Nashville TN; his sister, Jan Wallace Glaser (Don) of Memphis TN; his sister, Patricia Wallace Grear (John) of Asheville NC; his sister, Barbara Wallace Boatner of Memphis, TN, in addition to all of his nieces, nephews, and a large group of beautiful friends.All are encouraged to join his family for a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Memphis, TN that will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 26. A graveside interment in Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis, TN will take place at 11:30 a.m. A reception for family and friends at St. Louis Church will follow.
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