T. “Dudley” Wallace

T. “Dudley” Wallace, 87, a retired economics professor, died peacefully at his home in Cape Carteret, NC, early Saturday, April 18, 2020.

The family plans to gather in Emerald Isle to celebrate “Peepaw” with southern food and stories - two of his great loves - when pandemic restrictions are lifted.

Thomas Dudley Wallace was born in Stonewall, Oklahoma, the son of tenant farmers Mattie Melinda and William Sherwood Wallace. It was in a one-room schoolhouse in Washita County, Oklahoma that Mr. Wallace began an education that would launch him out of the cotton patch to become a James B. Duke distinguished Professor of Economics at Duke University, and then to teaching sabbaticals around the world.

After a two-year stint in the Army, Mr. Wallace earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he married his childhood sweetheart, JoAnn Meeks. He went on to earn his PhD in 1963, at the University of Chicago, studying under the influential free-market economist Milton Friedman.

Mr. Wallace then moved his young family to Raleigh, where he took on a professorship at North Carolina State University. During his 12 years there, he also held visiting Professor positions in Davis, CA, Dallas, TX, Seattle, WA, Blacksburg, VA, and San Juan, PR.

In 1974, he moved to Duke, where he eventually became Chair of the Economics Department for four years, and Director of graduate studies. He also traveled the world, teaching in Japan, England, Australia, New Zealand, China, India and Russia.

Mr. Wallace co-authored an econometrics textbook, published over two dozen scholarly articles, and directed some forty doctoral dissertations over the course of his career. He also served on the Board of Directors of the National Bureau of Economic Research for a decade and held editorial positions at a handful of economic journals. Before retiring in 1995, he also worked as a consultant to various organizations, including the National Academy of Sciences and the World Bank.

A voracious reader with wide interests, Mr. Wallace maintained his insatiable curiosity until the end. A guitar player and golfer, he may be best remembered for his wicked sense of humor: he was always quick with a trenchant remark, and his barbs became the stuff of family legend over the years. Yet his formidable intellect and occasionally gruff exterior belied a deep tenderness and generosity, often on display with his students and five grandchildren.

Mr. Wallace is survived by his wife of 66 years, JoAnn; his daughters, Pam Toll of Wilmington, NC, and Patricia “Petey” Wallace O’Donnell, along with her husband John, of Emerald Isle, NC, and Naples, FL; a brother, Phil Wallace of Granbury, TX, along with his wife, Joy; and five grandchildren, Eddie, Casey, Katy, Kerry and Jack.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the T. Dudley and JoAnn Wallace Endowment at Duke University, Department of Development, 406 Blackwell St., Suite 300, Durham, N.C.27701.

Family and friends are welcome to submit online condolences at www.mundenfuneralhome.net

Arrangements by Munden Funeral Home and Crematory in Morehead City, NC.