David Lee Wallace

Date of Death: 
Monday, October 9, 2017

David Lee Wallace, 88, professor emeritus in the Statistics Department at the University of Chicago, died peacefully in his sleep on Monday, October 9, 2017 of the on-going effects of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Services in commemoration of his death will be held at Montgomery Place 5550 S. Shore Drive Chicago Illinois on Friday Oct. 20 at 3pm and at the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer, 4945 South Dorchester Ave, Chicago Illinois, on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 11am. Receptions will follow both services.

David Wallace was born and raised in Homestead Park, PA, attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) and Princeton University, from which he received his PhD. After a year of teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology he joined the Statistics faculty at the University of Chicago in 1954. There he served as Department Counselor and Chairman, and supervised many PhD dissertations. He also served as Acting Director of the Biological Computation Center for a year, as (acting or associate) editor of professional journals, and on University and Laboratory School committees until his retirement in 1995. He was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences and a Visiting Associate Professor at Princeton. With Frederick Mosteller, he wrote Inference and Disputed Authorship: The Federalist Papers, served as a member of a study section of the National Institutes of Health and was involved with the early use of computers in predicting election results. Among awards David Wallace received were the Carnegie Mellon University Alumni Merit Award and the American Statistical Association’s Samuel S. Wilks Memorial Medal.

Post retirement David Wallace became a Chicago Architectural Foundation docent and for twelve years joyfully led downtown tours of the Loop. Architecture had long been a great interest and the subject of many photos, photography being another serious enthusiasm.

David Wallace was, from 1973 on, an active member of the congregation of the Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer where he served as treasurer, on search committees and was a tenor in the choir.

Singing and music had been a part of David Wallace’s life since his high school days when he played clarinet in the marching band. He sang at Princeton and in the Rockefeller Chapel choir and, with his children, enjoyed home ensembles, where he sometimes played the piano as well as the clarinet. With his wife, Anna Mary, he attended Lyric Opera (for 59 years) and the Chicago Symphony.

Camping, travel, hiking and general enjoyment of the out of doors were also sources of pleasure for David Wallace and he smiled at the view of the Museum of Science and Industry and Lake Michigan from his Montgomery Place window until days before his death.

He took enormous pride in his three children and their children, was the go-to person for any kind of information and could be beaten at “Trivia” only when popular culture was the category!

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Anna Mary, and his children, Margaret (Sandra Anderson) Kathryn (Sarah Pradt) and Edward, by three grand daughters, Whitney, Amber and Lia, and by a brother, Robert.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to:

Department of Statistics, University of Chicago,
5734 S. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637
(Note should be made that the contribution is for the David L. Wallace Fund).

Chicago Architecture Foundation
224 S. Michigan Ave.
Chicago IL. 60604-2500
Services in commemoration of his death will be held at:
Montgomery Place, 5550 S. Shore Drive, Chicago Illinois on Friday Oct. 20 at 3pm
Church of St. Paul and the Redeemer, 4945 South Dorchester Ave, Chicago Illinois on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 11am.
All are welcome to either service. Receptions will follow both services

Guestbook

Karen Meier
Anna Mary, Meg, Kathy and Ed- My condolences on the death of David. He has a firm place in my childhood memories. Hugs to all of you. Warmly, Karen
Diane Meier
I have very fond memories of David's voice and calm and humor, from all the days of my childhood. Love to everybody. Diane
joan Meier
Having grown up with Meg, Kathy and Ted, my heart goes out to the family for this loss. Dave, as my family knew him, was a close colleague of my father's and we felt connected on many levels. I am sending love and support to all of you.