- Date Of Birth: August 20, 1919
- Date Of Death: August 29, 2010
- State: Montana
Wallace E. McCulloch (Mac), age 91, passed away August 29, 2010 at Kalispell Regional Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana. He was born in Staples, Minnesota August 20, 1919 to George and Anna McCulloch.
Wallace’s mother died when he was four years of age. In 1925 his father moved to Livingston, Montana and married Mary Evert.
Wally graduated from Dawson County High School in 1937. He lettered in basketball and football. His father worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad and Wally went to work for them as a boilermaker’s apprentice after high school graduation.
In February of 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Force. He served in the 12th Tow-target Squadron in California until transferred to the Dutch Indies. He was discharged as a Master Sargeant in December of 1945. In 1949 he graduated from Bemidji State College in Northern Minnesota. He received his Masters degree from Colorado State in Fort Collins, CO.
Wally’s first teaching position was in Idaho Springs, CO in 1949 and in 1951 he became the auto mechanic teacher at Flathead County High School. During his tenure at FCHS he started a local boys club that was active in repairing and redistributing children’s toys at Christmas. He later was a charter sponsor of V.I.C.A. (Vocational Industrial Clubs of America). He served as president of the Montana State Vocational Association and was a member of the Governor’s Vocational Advisory Board for six years. In 1977 he retired from teaching
After retiring he stayed busy building four houses and fine furniture for his family and friends. He loved the challenge of figuring out how something was done or put together and made all the pieces for a spinning wheel, a tea cart, a muzzle loader just to see if he could.
He was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church and served as a deacon, trustee and president of the congregation. He sang in the church choir and was a member of a barbershop quartet.
In 1975 he, with his wife, Olen, served in the mission field for two months in Arusha, Tanzania Africa. He was involved with training mechanics who kept the Mission vehicles running.
He is survived by his wife, Olen, of sixty-six years; his sister, Kay Brumbaugh and her husband Gaylord of Spokane, WN; his daughters Margie and Larry Simpson of Kalispell and Colleen and Hugh T. Greenway of Rancho Santa Fe, CA; his grandsons David and Ann Lee Simpson of Asheville, N.C., Michael and Heidi Simpson and grandchildren Alexander and Olivia of Boise, ID, John Greenway of Macon, GA and William Greenway of Rancho Santa Fe, CA.
He loved his family, hunting, fishing, golf and his workshop. When in high school he wrote the motto for the class yearbook of 1937, “If you must hammer, build something”.
The family deeply appreciates the thoughtfulness of their friends and staff at Buffalo Hill Terrace.
