Sidney Arthur Wallace

Sidney Arthur Wallace, 98, of Reston, Virginia, passed away at home on January 9. Beloved son of Albert Victor Wallace and Amy Williams Wallace, he will be fondly remembered by family and friends as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and distinguished lawyer and US Coast Guard veteran.

He was born on 16 October 1927 in Alcoa, TN, and graduated high school from the Baylor School in Chattanooga in 1945.  He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Engineering and a commission of Ensign on June 3,1949, the same day he married his wife, Jacqueline.

During later service assignments he earned a degree of Juris Doctor with Honors from George Washington University National Law Center, graduated with distinction from the Air War College, and earned a Master’s Degree of Political Science from Auburn University.

After flight training at Pensacola, FL, and Corpus Christi, TX, he was designated Coast Guard Aviator No. 655. Assignments as a search and rescue aviator included stints in Wilmington, NC, where his talent for law was discovered, Alaska, where his elder son later returned to pursue an academic career, and New Orleans, LA, to lead the new Coast Guard Air Station in 1969.

In 1975, Wallace was nominated by President Ford for the rank of Rear Admiral. He was subsequently appointed Chief, Office of Public and International Affairs, Executive Director, Marine Safety Task Force on Tanker Safety in the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, and Maritime Policy Advisor to the Secretary.

RADM Wallace retired from the Coast Guard in 1978 to accept a position as Counsel to the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, U.S. House of Representatives. He left Capitol Hill in 1981 to enter the private practice of law and serve on numerous international committees related to the protection of the marine environment.

He was awarded the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, in addition to the World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Expert Pistol Shot Medal.

RADM Wallace’s wife is the former Jacqueline Theis of Islip, NY, who attended the Connecticut College for Women. He is also survived by son Evan and daughter-in-law Mary, of Columbia, MD, niece Jody Gates, MD, of New Orleans, LA, and granddaughters Theresa Wallace of Fairbanks, AK, and Joanna Wallace of Eugene, OR. He is predeceased by son, Wesley, and sisters Alma Wallace Gates and Margaret Wallace Stewart.

Internment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery on April 27 at 3:00 p.m. The ceremony will be livestreamed at https://evt.live/sydney-wallace-burial-service.