Thrived in careers as endodontist, educator
Dr. James A. Wallace was a lifelong learner, a proud teacher and a caring doctor who worked to make people’s lives better.
For more than 30 years, he was an endodontist, a professor and published researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, where he also served as director of the Endodontics Department.
“He always had a drive to be the best,” said his wife, Claire Wallace. “He loved the university life and he loved to teach.”
Dr. Wallace, 75, of O’Hara, died Tuesday of multiple organ failure.
He grew up in Flint, Mich., where his parents worked in the automotive industry. As a young man, he worked as a clerk in a drug store.
“I think that’s how he got an interest in pharmacy,” Mrs. Wallace said. Dr. Wallace earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1968.
“He was fourth in his graduating class,” said his wife, who met him at a college dance.
The two married in November 1966, after Dr. Wallace worked up the nerve to propose.
“He had never told me that he loved me,” she remembered. “He was a fulltime student at the time and I was planning to go to Chicago for [ flight attendant] training. He told me he loved me and that if I didn’t marry him, I would never see him again. That was really heavy, because I had my career in front of me.”
Mrs. Wallace, who later pursued her own career, said she never regretted her decision.
“I would not have changed it for anything in this world,” she said.
Although he at first intended to become a pharmacist, Dr. Wallace pivoted and pursued a career in dentistry.
“He knew there was more for him, and he really enjoyed medicine,” his wife said.
Dr. Wallace enrolled in Case Western Reserve University, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in dental surgery. After he practiced in Cleveland for several years, the family relocated to Pittsburgh so Dr. Wallace could study at the Pitt dental school.
He graduated with master’s degrees in anatomy and endodontics from Pitt, before returning to Case Western for a master’s degree in periodontics in 1985.
All of the years of school and studying made for an interesting family life, his wife said.
“It took a lot of tenacity,” said Mrs. Wallace, who noted each of their four children was born while Dr. Wallace was in school.
Dr. Wallace taught restorative dentistry and endodontics and operated a private practice during his time at the Pitt dental school, along with publishing dozens of articles and research.
He was particularly proud of achieving diplomate status at the American Board of Endodontics, a “unique achievement that signifies board certification,” according to the organization’s website.
“He had to work very hard for that and go before a board of specialists,” his wife recalled. “It’s quite an achievement.”
Dr. Wallace never turned away patients who couldn’t afford to pay, and he volunteered his services with Catholic Charities. He even bartered with patients occasionally.
“I got my house wallpapered one time,” Mrs. Wallace said.
After he retired in 2009, Dr. Wallace donated his dental equipment and office furniture for a free dental clinic.
He also spent much of his retirement volunteering in the pharmacy at UPMC St. Margaret and pursuing his many hobbies, including traveling, boating and scuba diving in places like the Florida Keys and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.
When he wanted to get fit, Dr. Wallace took night classes to learn karate and became a black belt.
“He was full of life,” Mrs. Wallace said. “And he was a great father to our children.”
A lifelong trumpet aficionado, Dr. Wallace passed on his love for music and games to his children.
“We had five trumpet players in our family — all four of our kids played, too,” his wife said, laughing at the memory. “You should have heard our house at Christmastime.”
Dr. Wallace was also involved in his church as a lecturer and Eucharistic minister.
“His family was very important to him and he was a spiritual person,” added Mrs. Wallace, who said she would miss her husband’s love and companionship.
“I married my best friend and through all of this — the highs and lows — we were still best friends,” she said.
Dr. Wallace is also survived by his daughters Nicole Duff, of Hampton, and Heather Setzenfand, of Franklin Park; his sons Peter J. Wallace, of Gaithersburg, Md., and Patrick J. Wallace, of O’Hara; his brother Edward P. Wallace, of Portland, Ore.; and nine grandchildren.
His funeral was Thursday.