MELINDA WALLACE

October 11, 1953 - May 10, 2022

Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother Melinda Faye Wallace died on May 10, 2022.

Melinda was born to Loy C. and Imogene Thompson in Conroe, Texas on October 11, 1953.

Melinda and her family moved to Houston, Texas in 1964. Melinda remained in Houston and the surrounding areas her whole life.

Melinda married her beloved husband Buckner in 1976. Their daughter

Julie was born in 1977. They spent thirteen years living in Missouri City, Texas and then returned to the Westbury area where they grew up.

Melinda learned to read at age three at her father’s side while he tutored older school children at their home. She became an avid reader who loved books and had a tremendous understanding of words and language that served her well in her academics and her career as a teacher. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree as a registered nurse from Alvin Community College of Nursing in 1989. She worked as a medical-surgical nurse in various area hospitals for twenty years.

Melinda had an ability to be very charming and witty. She could also be very empathic and caring. She had tremendous communication skills and was very adept at reading people. But her most notable attribute was her sharp mind and great intelligence.

Melinda loved nursing and teaching and spent the last ten years of her career as the LVN Program Director at Alvin Community College of Nursing. She believed nursing should be taught in a structured hands on style, the way nurses of her generation were taught. She expected hard work from her students with no exceptions. During her time as director the program was the only one in the state whose students achieved 100% state boards pass rate for ten years in a row.

Melinda is preceded in death by her parents, Loy C. and Imogene Thompson; father-in-law, William Harlan Wallace; brother-in-law,

Brian James Wallace and sister-in-law, Karen Jean Wallace. Melinda is survived by her husband, Buckner

Wm. Wallace; daughter,

Julie Anne Wallace; son-inlaw, Thomas Brian Gilbert and grandchildren, Jacob Brian Wallace-Ellis, Jolie May Wallace-Ellis, and Jacqueline Faye Wallace-Ellis, and by siblings, Tina Thompson Richards, Robert Thompson, and Lucy Thompson Rigney and sister-in-law, Susan Wallace, and mother-in-law, Jamesene Temple Wallace.

“A human being does not cease to exist at death. It is change, not destruction, which takes place.” - Florence Nightingale

Melinda’s last wish was to have her ashes scattered by her family in a private ceremony.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the ACC Alum Melinda Wallace Memorial Scholarship at (https://p2p. onecause.com/accclosedamb/ team/melinda-wallacememorial-scholarship).