Wallace Debes, Sr., 84, of Beaumont, died Monday, September 14, 2015, in his home. With siblings Abraham, Sam, Wilford, Ted, Lewis, and Emilene already in tow, he was born at home in Beaumont, to S.P. and Lillie Belle Baine Debes, on November 26, 1930. Wallace grew up during the great depression and learned at an early age the importance of love for GOD, hard work, family involvement, respect for others and proper education.
Wallace was a lifelong member of St. Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church. His first job was a paper route in his neighborhood. After being paid he was expected to contribute that pay to the family. In turn, his mother would give him an allowance from those earnings. As a teenager, Wallace preformed altar boy duties and, as a past time, enjoyed the Boy Scouts of America with his cousins.
He attended Averill Elementary School, Dick Dowling Junior High School and Beaumont High School. While in high school, Wallace excelled in the marching and symphonic bands as the first chair drummer, both his junior and senior years. After graduation, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1951 and was stationed in the Aleutian Islands as a radio operator. After an honorable discharge, Wallace returned home and continued to contribute to the family and his church.
His next job, in 1953, was a pharmaceutical representative and cigarette salesman that introduced him to many new faces including a young and beautiful widow, Betty Jean Walker. Betty and her son, James whom Wallace later adopted, became a fixture in his life. They fell in love and married 1956. Wallace soon went to work for his “Uncle Joe” at Baine Amusement. After their son, Wallace Jr., was born in 1957, Wallace found his true calling after going to college then earning an AS degree in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. He became a distributor for Kold Draft Ice Machine Company followed by accepting the position of lead refrigeration mechanic with Carnation Ice Cream Company of Beaumont. Wallace’s second son, Sam, was born 1958. Home life became very crowded so he and Betty bought a new home on South Ninth Street and continued their family by adding his pride and joy, Joanie Kay, in 1960.
It was from here that Wallace made his stand in life. In the 1960’s, after some good and bad investments, he decided to try the food and beverage industry as his next entrepreneurial experience. This turned out to be a very lucrative enterprise. He moved his family to Dowlen Road and continued all of his ventures with little slowing him down. In the early 1970’s, Wallace opened Wally’s Diner, followed by The Oaks Supper Club. In the early 1980’s, He partnered with several people at various occupations in the entertainment business and was victorious at all levels. After another successful run he found his next challenge. In 1983 he decided that Wallace Jr. and Sam, both achieving their AS in Refrigeration as he did, would be good partners in the refrigeration business and Debes Ice Company was founded. He successfully ran this business, with his two sons, for the next thirty-two years. Wallace continued to experiment in the food business through three different restaurants, each time succeeding and leading to his next challenge. Failing health caused him to take a back seat to the daily grind in early 2015.
Wallace Debes was a compassionate, kind and caring man. Through his life he helped whomever he could. From assisting family members, giving to the poor, creating jobs from nothing, driving scouts to and from campouts, he always found a way to help. Because he grew up during the depression, his generosity overflowed to his children and grandchildren to make life better for them. Husband, Father, friend, Wallace will be greatly missed by everyone whose life he touched. We will always love and forever remember you. MEMORY ETERNAL.
Survivors include his wife, Betty; sons, Sam Debes and his wife, Nannette “Girl”, and James Alton Debes; daughter, Joanie Kay Herrmann and her husband, Duwayne, all of Beaumont; sister, Emilene Debes Musgrove of Houston; grandchildren, Jason Herrmann, Misty Kirkpatrick, Allison Debes, Sam Debes, III, and Adam Debes; and great-grandchildren, Brianna Herrmann and Lucas Michael Kirkpatrick.
Wallace is preceded in death by his son, Wallace Debes, Jr.; and his five brothers.
A gathering of Mr. Debes’ family and friends will begin at 5:00 p.m., with a Trisagion at 7:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2015, at St. Michael Antiochian Christian Orthodox Church, 680 North 15th Street, Beaumont. His funeral service will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, September 19, 2015, at St. Michael, with his interment to follow at St. Michael Orthodox Cemetery, Beaumont.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Michael Antiochian Christian Orthodox Church, 680 North 15th Street, Beaumont, Texas 77702.
