Kenneth Mark Wallace, 87, passed away Oct. 6, 2025 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Born May 7, 1938, to Kenneth and Jettie E. (Dumas) Wallace, he was the oldest of seven children and was a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation.
Mark was raised in Purcell and graduated from Purcell High School in 1957. He spent his early years traveling across the US working in radio tower construction and maintenance. He traveled to Bermuda at one point and built the tallest tower in the area. He eventually moved on to work in the plumbing and mechanical building industry and even owned his own plumbing business for a short time.
Later, while working for Trane Co., he was recruited by the State of Oklahoma to work at Joseph Harp Correctional Facility where he retired after many years of service. After retirement, he rebuilt and operated a granary in Minco, Okla. He purchased a large acreage in Alex, Okla., where he raised cattle and built a home on a pond as his retreat. After years of enjoyment there, he decided he wasn’t done, went back to his roots of Purcell and built his last home.
Mark loved working on just about anything. He loved working with his hands and there was not a project he wouldn’t tackle.
He will be greatly missed by many.
Mark was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Jim, Joe and Tim; sisters, Marsha and Shelia; daughter, Michelle and grandson, Craig Henderson.
Survivors include his sons, Mark and wife, Ella, of Tacoma,Wash., Matthew of Lindsay, Okla., John and wife, Laura, of Gilroy, Calif., and Danny and wife, Amber, of Blanchard, Okla., sister, Kateri Longacre of Newcastle, Okla.; aunt, Shirley Stark of Purcell; 14 grandchildren and a host of great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.
A Rosary will be said Friday evening, October 31, 2025 and a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, November 1, 2025 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Purcell. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Purcell.