BATH — Burnette Bailey Wallace, 99, died Dec. 23. She was born on her family’s farm in Woolwich on Oct. 3, 1913, the daughter of Bernice Blair Bailey and Franklin Reed Bailey.

Wallace attended the one-room Naquassett school and both the old and new Morse high schools. Until the Carlton Bridge was completed, she rode the Kennebec ferry each day.

At Gorham Normal School she excelled at sports including basketball, volleyball, softball and track. After graduating with her teaching certificate, she taught grades 1-8 at the North New Portland and Woolwich schools.

She married Stanley E. Wallace, of Bath, in July 1939.

After having three sons, she returned to teach at Bath’s Mitchell school. While there, she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees through the University of Maine.

She was a member of the Alpha Delta Kappa teaching sorority and a member of the Woolwich Historical Society, which awarded her its Distinguished Service Award.

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She co-authored the book “A History of Woolwich” and compiled several local histories. She was a docent and board member of the Woolwich Farm House Museum and a lifelong member of the Nequasset Church.

In retirement, Wallace and her husband traveled, square-danced and built a home in Woolwich. Their cottage at Popham Beach was where she could be found each summer.       

Wallace is survived by her three sons, David, Brian, and Mark and his wife, Sylvia; their children, Robyn and her husband, Sean, and Jacob and his wife, Erin; and great-grandson Liam. She also leaves behind her beloved poodle, Tess.

A funeral was held Dec. 28 at the Desmond Funeral Home in Bath. Memorial gifts may be made to the Woolwich Historical Society, P.O. Box 98, Woolwich, ME 04579.

To share your thoughts and condolences with the family, please visit www.desmondfuneralhomes.com.

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Burnette Bailey Wallace


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