Obituary of Martha Wallace

Martha Jane Shields Wallace, 88, of Rapid City, South Dakota, formerly of the Waukegan/Zion area, traded in her earthly life for her eternal life in Christ on January 15, 2009 at Fountain Springs Health Care in Rapid City, South Dakota. Well done thou good and faithful servant. Martha was born October 20, 1920 in Blandinsville, Illinois to the late Fred and Cordia (nee Coulter) Shields. Martha attended school in the Carthage and Burnside areas and attended Macomb High School, graduating in 1937. She then attended nursing school at St. Francis in Peoria, Illinois. She was united in marriage to her former husband, Richard Wallace Sr. In 1942. Following her marriage, Martha moved to Daly City, California, returning to the Peoria, Macomb and Good Hope, Illinois area in 1948. She later moved to the Waukegan area in 1956, and then to Zion in 1960, where she resided until moving to be with her daughter Pat and son-in-law Ron in Polar, Wisconsin, in 1998. She then went to Rapid City, South Dakota in 2000 to be with her daughter Leah and son-in-law Jim, where she remained until the time of her death. While in South Dakota, she enjoyed seeing Mount Rushmore and the Badlands of South Dakota and her many adventures in the "go bump truck". While in the Waukegan/Zion area, Martha was actively involved in different church activities. She was a member of the Full Gospel Mission Church in Zion which later became Trinity Assembly of God where she was asked to serve on the Board at a time when there was a shortage of men at the church. She faithfully served her Lord as an adult Sunday School teacher, was active in the WMCs, and the visitation team. She also was the cook for many years at the church-run Zion Child Care Center. Martha loved to crochet and to quilt, and has until recently due to failing eyesight, continued to cut quilt blocks for different projects. She was always willing to help. In her early years in Waukegan, she also served as a nurse's aide at the former St. Therese Hospital. Martha is survived by one sister, Roberta Shields DeCocq of Ozark, Missouri; by her eight children and spouses, Jane Gearhart of Waterloo, Iowa, Pat (Ron) Hansen of Polar, Wisconsin, Richard (Charlotte) Wallace Jr. of Zion, Fred (Judy) Wallace of Holland, Massachusetts, Rachel (Jim) Marshall of Lexington, Kentucky, Leah (Jim) Jester of Rapid City, South Dakota, Debrah (David) Christensen of Racine, Wisconsin, and Galen Wallace of Beach Park; twenty grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Marnie Shields of Tennessee, Mary Shields of California, Frances Johnson of Kentucky and Marguerite Wallace of Illinois; and nieces, nephews and other relatives. She was preceded in death by her loving parents, Fred and Cordia (nee Coulter) Shields; her brothers, Randall, Austin and Paul Shields; one sister, Ruby Shields Sutton; and her former husband, Richard Wallace Sr. who preceded her in 1995. All who knew and loved her will sadly miss Martha. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, January 21, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. at the CONGDON FUNERAL HOME, 3012 Sheridan Road, Zion, with Pastor Marv Kindle officiating. Interment will follow at Pineview Memorial Park, Beach Park, Illinois. Visitation will be Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until time of services at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Heart Association (americanheart.org), American Diabetes Association (diabetes.org), or the Day Care Fund at Bethel Assembly of God in Rapid City, South Dakota, 1201 N. Maple Avenue, Rapid City, South Dakota 57701.