Wallace M. Conerly

Wallace Conerly, 97, of Norman, was born on March 12, 1927, and went to be with the Lord on April 6, 2024.  Wallace grew up in Hornbeck, Louisiana, the oldest of three boys.  He graduated high school in May 1945, and entered U.S. Army service the next day.  On a visit home, he saw Dean Gentry playing the piano at First Baptist Church, Hornbeck, and Wallace knew she was the woman for him.  They were married on July 4, 1954.  Wallace served all over the world, including Germany and Korea and multiple combat tours in Vietnam, where he earned the Bronze Star.  Their favorite duty station was the Panama Canal Zone in the mid-1950s.  Norman became their home in 1966, when Wallace was stationed at North Base.  He retired from the U.S. Army in 1969, after serving for twenty-four years.  For his second career, he worked as a U.S. Postal Carrier for twenty-two years.

He was a dedicated father who raised three children in Norman: Carla, Debra, and Gary.  He lovingly cared for his wife, Dean, while she suffered from a long illness.  In his late eighties and at ninety years old, he managed her care at home, where she passed peacefully.  They were married for sixty-two years.  Wallace was a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Norman for almost sixty years.  He taught the two and three-year-old Sunday School class for almost forty years, while Dean served in the nursery, and “his kids” affectionately called him “Mr. Wallace.”  He was also a Deacon in the church and volunteered as the landscaper and handyman at the FBC Mission House until his wife’s health declined.

Wallace loved spending the day doing yard work and working in his large backyard garden.  He was known around church and his neighborhood for sharing his tomatoes.  Last summer, at ninety-six and a half, he produced dozens of tomatoes, with his tomato vines reaching six feet high.  At ninety-seven years old, Wallace was one of the last remaining members of “The Greatest Generation.”  He embodied the work ethic and service to others that this group exemplified.  His commitment to family and church was unwavering, and three generations of his family will cherish their memories with him forever. 

Wallace was preceded in death by his treasured wife, Dean; parents, Ruby and Herbert Conerly; brother, Wade Conerly; and son-in-law, Bob Loeser.  He is survived by his children, Carla Howell, Debra Loeser, and Gary Conerly; grandchildren, Staci (Dino) Koutsoukos, Dustin (Sarah) Howell, Lance (Lia) Loeser, and Brittany Loeser; great-grandchildren, Jaxon, Grace, and Kate Koutsoukos, and Matthew Howell; and brother, Glenn Conerly.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his memory to First Baptist Church-Mission House Fund, 211 W. Comanche Street, Norman, OK, 73069.