Aron Lee “Rock” Wallace, Jr.

Funeral services for Aron Lee “Rock” Wallace, Jr., 60, of Houston, will be held at 1 p.m Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008 in Central Baptist Church, with Elder Norris T. Hunt officiating. Burial will be in Union Hill Cemetery at Summerfield under the direction of Community Funeral Home of Jacksonville. Wallace died Saturday, Aug. 23, 2008 in The Woodlands. He was born Feb. 29, 1948 in Jacksonville. He attended Fred Douglass Elementary. He was a Cherokee County resident for 48 years and a Houston resident for 12 years. He was a member of First Pentecostal Church and an engineer with Union Pacific Railroad. He also served in the U.S. Army. He was preceded in death by his parents, Aron and Corsie Whitaker-Wallace; and brother, Larry Wallace. Survivors include his wife, Beauty F. Wallace, of The Woodlands; sons and daughters-in-law, Carlos and Lori Wallace, Aaron and Khalilah Wallace, both of The Woodlands, Johnathan Fry of Nacogdoches and Nekia and Keena Wallace of Jacksonville, Ark; daughters and son-in-law, Ursula McCuin, of Lancaster, Aurelia and Jerry Wallace, of Atasocita and Jocelyn Wallace of Jacksonville; brothers and sisters-in-law, Johnny and Linda Wallace, of Jacksonville, Chris Wallace, James and Charlotte Wallace; sisters and brother-in-law, Eva Castleberry, Florida Waits, Doris Whitaker, all of Jacksonville, betty and Robert Golden, of Dallas; and ten grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Alan Hinton, John Robinson, Jr., Lorenzo McCullough, Archie Walker, Reginald Newsome and Jeff Walker. Honorary Pallbearers will be Romeo Bagley, Rube E. Hicks, C.J. Gill, C.T. Booker, Benny Brown, Lawrence Hutchinson, Claude Jones and Vinson Polk. Public viewing will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 at the funeral home. A wake will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Published in the Jacksonville Daily Progress from 8/29/2008 - 8/30/2008

Published in the Jacksonville Daily Progress

A.L. “Bigfoot” Wallace

A.L. “Bigfoot” Wallace, UTU member and father of UTU organizer Carlos Wallace, has passed away. Wallace, a veteran railroader and member of Local 524 in Palestine, Texas, worked on the railroad for 33 years. “Bigfoot” hired out with Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) in 1975 in Palestine, Texas. MoPac was acquired by Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) in 1982 during one of the most troublesome times in modern railroad history. “Bigfoot,” like many others, resorted to other employment such as substitute teaching and insurance sales during the layoff to support his family. In 1985, the worst appeared to be behind him and he worked as a conductor until 1994 when he became a promoted engineer. After the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) and UPRR merger in 1996, he relocated to Houston, Texas, where he was a household name on “The Rabbit,” a run from Houston to Shreveport, La. A big man in stature, with a booming voice and a tall-tale to tell, he inspired the career of many young railroaders. In addition to two of his sons, Carlos Wallace (UPRR) and Aaron Lee Wallace, III (aka "Step") (KCS/Tex Mex), he has several nephews and a host of cousins and family friends in the rail industry in the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest areas. “Bigfoot” believed that railroading was a great opportunity and encouraged those who he encountered to pursue such a career. He is survived by his wife, Faye; sons Carlos, Jonathan, Aaron III and Nekia; and daughters Ursula, Aurelia, Jocelyn; and 10 grandchildren. “He will be greatly missed in the rail industry by those who knew and worked with him, but his legacy will remain," Carlos said. A wake will be held Friday, Aug. 29, 2008 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Community Funeral Home in Jacksonville, (903) 586-1069. The funeral will be Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, at 1 p.m., at the Central Baptist Church in Jacksonville, (903) 586-2215. Published in the Jacksonville Daily Progress from 8/27/2008 - 8/29/2008