LORINE G. WALLACE
1927-2020
Lorine Graeber Wallace was born in Independence, Texas on the 28 of July 1927, and passed away in Houston on Friday, the 8th of May 2020. She was 92 years of age.
Lo attended William Penn School for ten years and graduated from Brenham High School in 1944. Her proudest accomplishment was earning her BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1951, working in the Texas Governor’s office during her years of study, and remaining in the Governor’s office until 1957 as head of the Clemency Division under Governors Jester, Shivers, and Daniel.
After her marriage to Charles Harold Wallace and the birth of their two sons, the family moved to Houston.
Lo’s interest in government and politics remained constant during her entire adult life. She served on homeowner’s boards of directors, was Precinct Chairman and Election Judge for many years, board member and president of Village Republican Women, held several positions on the board of Houston Council of Republican Women, volunteered at the Harris County Republican Headquarters in the 1990’s, and was a member of board of United Republicans of Harris County for many years.
Lo had many philanthropic interests as well, having been a member of the Houston Assembly of Delphian Chapters for more than 40 years. She served in leadership positions on the Delphian Past Presidents Board as well as on the Assembly. She donated many volunteer hours at Saint Joseph Hospital as a member of Cancer Fighters.
Harold and Lo enjoyed being patrons of the Houston Symphony for more than twenty years and she was a member of the Symphony League. They travelled extensively, and were members of BraeBurn Country Club and the Headliners Club in Austin. She seldom missed playing bridge with her neighborhood group and with the BraeBurn Friday Bridge group. She was also a member of EnAmie Book Club.
In 2008, the John S. Dunn Research Foundation Board of Trustees, on which Harold served, established the C. Harold and Lorine G. Wallace Distinguished University Chair at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, specifically for stem cell research.
She and Harold had the good fortune to spend 60 enjoyable years together before his death in February 2014. In addition to her two sons, they are survived by their daughter-in-law, Yvonne, and two grandchildren, Caroline and Grahme. Lo was a member of a large family born to Henry Graeber and Emma Tiemann of Washington County. She was the first in her family to revisit the area in Germany from which her four grandparents and father emigrated from in the 1880’s. Her five brothers and four sisters are deceased, but her many nieces and nephews have continued to hold annual reunions which began when her siblings were young adults. Her large family and its accomplishments were a source of justifiable pride.
The family will gather for a private entombment on Thursday morning, the 14th of May, in the Memorial Mission Mausoleum at Forest Park Westheimer Cemetery where she will be laid to rest by her husband’s side. The service will be officiated by the Rev. Dr. Michael Fry of Grace Presbyterian Church.
Arrangements for the Memorial service and celebration of life are to be announced at a later date.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Lo’s memory be directed to Houston Baptist University, 7502 Fondren Road, Houston Texas 77074, for the Harold and Lorine Wallace Endowed Nursing Scholarship. A contribution to that scholarship would be appreciated by the family and the University.
Please visit Mrs. Wallace’s online memorial tribute at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with her family. There you may also opt to receive updated service information by selecting the “Receive Notifications” icon.