Services can be viewed on livestreaming on June 5, 2025.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=79K9dlishcs

Wallace Ryker, aged 87, departed this life and passed away peacefully on May 25th, 2025, surrounded by family. It is no small task to memorialize him, as he was more than a beloved father grandfather, brother and friend…he was a force of nature, a man whose life could fill volumes and whose epic stories could rival any great film. He had an absolutely unforgettable personality with a unique and commanding voice that was just different, like John Wayne or Johnny Cash. It was one you'd never forget. An old Navy friend who hadn't spoken with Wallace for 50 years, upon hearing it on the phone, immediately greeted him by name.

Wallace was raised in the deep south in the town of Geneva Alabama. With red clay beneath his feet and the grit of the south in his spirit, he lived a life that was nothing short of extraordinary, a grand and epic adventure…full of courage, laughter, mischief and often white knuckle, adrenaline fueled risk. It was Wally's world and we were all the wide eyed observers.

He was born March 21st, 1938, the third child born to Wallace and Marie Ryker. He grew up alongside his older siblings, a brother Carl and a sister, Julia. It was a home where love ran deep, even as hardship loomed on the horizon. When his parents parted ways at the tender age of six, it marked the first of many trials that would shape his unbreakable character. Though his father remarried, to a less than ideal step-mother, Wallace never wavered in his devotion to family. That was one of the few hills he was willing to die on.

It was in his early teens that life truly tested him for the first time. His father, the family's sole breadwinner, became disabled. With financial disaster looming, Wallace embarked on a daring plan. He outfitted the family car with special suspension (known as whiskey springs) and began preparing for his maiden voyage as an outlaw. He would soon take his place among the many famed southern bootleggers. He began moving moonshine into the counties of the deep south that remained dry after prohibition. It wasn't too long until he was the sole support of his family. He was only fifteen years old.

After a few years, and feeling that his luck with the law was about to run out, he joined the Navy at age 17. He was soon aboard the U.S.S. Princeton and traveling the world, mostly India and China. He also spent a year on the famed South Pacific Island of Kwajalein where he once survived being caught up in a typhoon by tethering himself to a water tank. During Wallace's entire time in the Navy, he sent 100% of his pay home to family. That would continue until he got married.

In 1957, while docked at Long Beach, Wally attended a dance at the Lido Ballroom where he met Joyce Amos, a very proper country girl. While wearing civilian clothes, he asked her to dance. She turned him down. A few weeks later he returned, wearing his navy uniform. He asked her again. This time it was a yes. The romance was on. Well…sort of. (Wallace was always humorously roasted in the family for being romantically challenged, but that is a story for another day.) They married in 1958 and soon welcomed a daughter, Janet, followed four years later by a son, Darren.

By 1967, the family had settled in Columbus, Georgia. It was a city inflamed with tensions of the Civil Rights era. Wallace soon found himself right in the heart of the conflict. He had a mechanic shop downtown where arson was running rampant. The local sheriff warned him that if he didn't want his business to burn down he would have to defend it himself. And so he did. He and an employee camped out for a week on the roof…just waiting. Eventually the 2 a.m. arsonists showed up. Wallace provided the necessary motivation for everyone to clear out and they all fled like cockroaches. If you messed with the bull, you would get the horns.

Not long after this incident, the family made a big move back to California, settling in Joyce's hometown of Shafter where her huge extended family all lived. Wallace soon opened Shafter Transmission which was a community fixture for many years.Their family life was pretty much Ozzie and Harriet ideal. Wallace worked hard and Joyce cooked all the time. It was fantastic, Southern style cooking. His sister Julia soon followed him out west with her 3 children in tow. He took her in and helped her start a new life.

Wallace soon became a private pilot with a multi engine rating which also allowed him to fly bigger aircraft. He soon bought a Piper Comanche. The family took to the skies, one year flying all the way to Florida. With others on board, Wallace was a very safe pilot. Flying solo, he was a daredevil, often pushing the boundaries, even stalling a few times, once with the engine out. Over the course of many years, he survived 3 plane crashes, walking away each time. This always made the news. This cat had nine lives and he was blowing through them pretty fast. Later on he bought another plane, an Aeronca Chief and continued flying. He had one crash in the Aeronca, tumbling end over end in a wheat field, after showing off some aerobatics, a sight witnessed by son Darren and a friend who were out on dirt bikes.

Wallace's next plans would soon develop. He acquired a commercial fishing vessel, called "Brunhilda." (docked at Morro Bay). Many family memories were made on the Brunhilda, one of which included a harrowing night time journey with Wallace and son Darren aboard, the seas so rough and the walls of water so high, a boat would easily capsize with a lesser captain. While pressing on to the Channel Islands, a surreal sight soon emerged. A school of dolphins surrounded Brunhilda, escorting her. The water was lit up all around by neon green phosphorus. They made landfall by morning only to go ashore and get another surprise. Wallace, walking among many large boulders on the beach, stepped on one…..…that opened its eyes. That rock was soon a massive barking sea lion that began chasing him. He was soon running with his knees up to his chest like he was trying to high step his way into the Olympics.

After a while, Wallace closed Shafter Transmission and went to work for the Minter Field Airport as a Supervisor. He had a large network of fellow pilots which led to many rides on vintage war planes. On one occasion, Bill Destefani invited him to ride along on a trip up North in his P-51 Mustang, one of many perks that would come with the new position.

In later years he joined Cooks of the Valley and traveled the world boosting sailors' morale. He also volunteered his time along with other pilots who were also multi-engine rated, by moving heavy aircraft for the military.

Wallace and Joyce shared 65 remarkable years together. Their biggest enjoyment was road trips and taking in live gospel shows whenever they could. In June of 2023, Joyce passed away, leaving Wallace to mourn the loss deeply. But there was one last thing on the bucket list. He was determined to go back to Jacksonville Florida to see his brother one last time. He had often said that "Carl was the best brother anyone could ever hope to have." They spent 10 perfect days out exploring and visiting their hometown, Geneva Alabama. Not much had changed. They took their last picture together, under the famous 300 year old oak tree that was already ancient when Wallace climbed it countless times as a young boy.

While we will mourn his passing, we will not be mourning a life left unfulfilled. We celebrate a spirit that chased horizons, defied odds and danced with danger not for any reason other than the pure joy of being alive.

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming, "What a ride!" Hunter S. Thompson

Wallace is survived by:

Daughter, Janet Peters; Son, Darren Ryker; Grandchildren: Michael Peters, Tiffany Haynes, Dillon Ryker, Alexa Puckett; Great Grandchildren: Romay Peters, Nolan and Ronan Haynes; Beloved Brother Carl Ryker; Nephews: Greg Crenshaw, Rodney and Terry Ryker; Nieces: Rhonda Oppelt, Gail Clark, Tina Aman, Donna Swain; Former DIL, Devra Ryker, with whom he remained very close.