Wallace Eugene Rundquist

On Saturday, January 1st, 2022, Wallace Eugene Rundquist, loving father and family man, passed away at the age of 89 in Phoenix Arizona.

Wallace (who preferred to go by Wally) was born March 4th, 1932 in Seattle Washington and was number five of nine children. All of his immediate family members preceded him in death- His parents, Olaf Simon Rundquist and Gladys Benson Rundquist, sisters Ellen Rundquist, Bernice Ward, Marilyn Simmons, Shirley De Young, Deloris Thompson and brothers Gordon Rundquist, Lloyd Rundquist and Neil Rundquist. He is survived by two of his children, Laura Bennett and Steven Rundquist, 6 grandchildren and 10 great Grandchildren and multiple nieces and nephews. Also proceeding him in death was Wally’s partner Frances Duboise, his other two children Sandra Coopersmith and Alex Rundquist and grandsons Robert Coopersmith and Ammon Bennett.

The most important things in Wally’s life, was his family, followed by music, singing, his Scandinavian heritage, watching sports and a good meal. He grew up in a home full of music; his siblings either sang in choirs or played musical instruments and he was in a barbershop quartet (the “Earlaires”) at the age of 19. He learned the value of hard work at an early age as he watched his mother and father raise 9 children and watched his father leave the house in the dark and came home in the dark, working as a long shore-man on the Seattle water-front. Wally graduated from Ballard Highschool in 1951 and went on to serve his country in the Korean War and was honorably discharged in May 1954. He learned the trade of hanging sheetrock and continued in the trade for almost 40 years until he retired. Although he really enjoyed hanging sheetrock, it was hard on his body and caused him a lot of back pain. He would go to the chiropractor when he could and then in the evenings, he would lay on the floor with his legs up on a chair to relieve the pain. He was so dedicated to providing for his family, that he always seemed to make it back to work the next day. He would often sing around the house and was a kind and loving father, taking his children to Edmond’s beach, family reunions, roller-skating, playing monster, etc.

In March of 2019, Wally’s daughter Laura, moved him from Mountlake Terrace Washington to Peoria Arizona to be close to her and Wally’s son Steve so they could spend time with him and take care of him. Wally missed Seattle but he did not miss the rain and eventually moved into an assisted living community. He was adapting to living alone, enjoyed spending time with his family, he joined the community’s choir and was really enjoying life, but he was also dealing with several health issues. He fell and broke his hip in October 2021, which he was unable to recover from and at the same time, his other health issues escalated, which he succumbed to New Year’s morning 2022.

Wally was a kind, soft spoken, a gentle soul and was always willing to help others. He had a great sense of humor, loved his family, had a beautiful smile and blue eyes that lit up a room. Wally had an incredible memory for important dates like birthdays, his favorite color was blue, he was a dedicated hard working honest man and was a rock for his children.

He was loved by so many and will truly be missed.