Services will be held Wednesday for former sheriff

By TARA JENNINGSLedger Staff Writer

Joe Wallace

Former Cherokee County Sheriff Joe Wallace died Sunday at his Gaffney home.

He was 84.

Wallace was the 11th sheriff, serving Cherokee County from 1982 to 1990. A Gaffney native, he was a member of the Fraternal Order of Police and the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association.

Described by some as one of the best sheriffs who had ever served Cherokee County, Wallace worked in law enforcement for 23 years.

“He was a man of distinction and he was a man of his word,” said Harrill Wallace, Joe Wallace’s son. “He lived and breathed law enforcement. He treated people fairly and tried to do right.”

Joe Wallace retired after two terms as sheriff. Before serving as a police officer for the sheriff’s department under sheriffs Julian Wright and Ernest Harrington, Wallace worked at Limestone Mills and Reed’s Shop in Gaffney.

After retiring from law enforcement, Wallace enjoyed fishing, especially for stripers, and spending time in his garden.

He was also faithful to his church, Temple Baptist.

“Daddy loved the Lord and I know where he’s at,” his son said Sunday. “He had comfort in knowing when he died he was going to be with the Lord.”

He will be remembered Wednesday when he is memorialized with a law enforcement funeral at 3 p.m. Wallace, who suffered from declining health, was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Marion Deane Potter Wallace, and three sons, all of whom had careers in law enforcement as well.

The complete obituary appears on Page 8A.