James D. Wallace

James (“Jim”) D. Wallace was born to James and Adele Wallace in Lawton, Oklahoma on January  14, 1947. Jim’s dad was stationed in nearby Fort Sill during WWII, and the family – including  Jim’s older sister, Barbara – remained in Lawton after the war ended. Jim recalled his time there  fondly and dreamed of growing up to become a weatherman. Barbara, however, was diagnosed  with leukemia and the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona for her medical treatment. Barbara  passed away at 15 years old, when Jim was 8, and this experience cemented Jim’s determination to  become a doctor.  

During Jim’s senior year at Phoenix’s Central High School, he sent off two college applications – one to Arizona State University and, at the encouragement of his family’s church’s pastor, one to  Amherst College in Massachusetts. Months later he embarked on a cross country train to spend 4 years at Amherst, where he was a bit overwhelmed at first as many of his classmates hailed from  prestigious New England prep schools. But with the help and encouragement of classmates who  would become lifelong friends - - Paul Daw, Dave Weaver, Mike Godfrey, Jack Widness, and John  Mirick among others - - Jim thrived in the pre-med program, even enjoying his summer research on  drosophila fruit flies. Medical school decision time arrived in the spring of his senior year along  with a late snow storm, and Jim found himself dreaming of sunny southern California. This  weather-related decision led him to USC medical school and the love of his life, Alana McGuire – a  fellow medical school student with a stunning smile.  

Jim finished his medical degree and started his residency, while Alana finished her PhD and began  a post-doc at CalTech. They married at the La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes in 1973 – a location they  returned to every year of their 51-year marriage on their anniversary to share a kiss. Several years  later, while juggling Jim’s residency schedule and Alana’s lab work, they had their first child - Shana. Jim would often accompany Alana to her lab at night and sleep there with Shana while  Alana worked. When their daughter Kelly was born, Jim and Alana moved to the Palos Verdes  Peninsula and Jim joined a medical practice in Long Beach with a group of physicians that were his  colleagues and close friends for the following decades – including Glen Libby, Mark Asbill, Jeff  Riker, Rubina Husain, Bryna Kane, and Nancy Schuttenhelm to name a few. Jim and Alana added  sons Brandon and Patrick to the crew and moved into their home of 40 years on Strawberry Lane.  Alana taught math and science at Chadwick School, while Jim continued with his internal  medicine and rheumatology practice, caring greatly about his patients – who had great affection  for him in return. Patients would retire and move to places like Las Vegas, but still commute back  to Long Beach to keep Jim as their doctor. 

As Jim and Alana’s kids started families of their own, Grandpa Jim/Pops was just as towering,  warm, and caring a figure in his grandkids’ lives as he has always been in his kids’ lives. And upon  retirement, Jim and Alana were also finally able to travel; once they got their first passports, they  took trips to Italy, Ireland, Scotland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. They always  brought two suitcases: one for their clothes and one for Jim’s travel guides, which helped him plan  their adventures in meticulous detail. Jim and Alana also loved to travel with their kids and  grandkids – whether to Maine or Hawaii or DC or Bloomington, Indiana. Always the avid sports  fan, Jim followed all of his LA teams and all of the college teams associated with his kids, but he  was particularly devoted to USC. Jim, Alana, Brandon & Patrick had the same season seats at USC  football games for decades, even as the team’s fortunes (and the surrounding crowds) waxed or  waned. Jim also loved attending concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, enrolling in continuing  education college courses, going to his favorite restaurants (like Philippe’s), shopping at Costco and  trying all the samples, visiting the local farmer’s market before getting breakfast with Alana and  their dear friend Yasuko Morihara, cooking, and spending as much time with family as possible.  

Jim was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer (glioblastoma) in January 2023. Just like the previous  50 years of their marriage, Alana was by Jim’s side every day and night, through every  appointment, test, and treatment, until he passed on October 16, 2024. A lifelong USC fan, Jim  was amused to find himself being cared for by a UCLA medical team. But what a team it was: Dr.  Bobby Chong and Dr. Richard Everson were the outstanding doctors to Jim that Jim had been to  his patients, and Jim was impressed by and grateful to all the doctors, surgeons, and medical staff  who participated in his care. In his last days, Jim was surrounded by his grandkids (James Wallace  (18 months); Alexis Wallace (9); Maddie Gorman (11); and James (15), Lael (12), and Josie (9)  Wallace Bosco), his kids’ spouses (Samantha Wallace, Sean Gorman, and David Bosco), as well as  Alana, Shana, Kelly, Brandon, and Patrick. True to form, in 20 months of fighting his brain  tumor, Jim virtually never complained or expressed anger at such a cruel disease. Instead, Jim’s  most common phrases in his final months were the ones that were at the core of his being, and the  last words he shared with his family: “Are you okay? Thank you. I love you.” In lieu of flowers,  please donate to the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at either this link or by phone:  (310) 206-0675, while cheering on USC’s football team.

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