Obituaries : * Beulah ‘Esther’ Wallace; Waitress, Seamstress

Beulah “Esther” Wallace, admired for her talent with a needle and thread and her ability to find humor in hardship, died in her Ojai home Friday. She was 62.

“Her ability to stitch, crochet and embroider came to her like a gift from God,” said Wallace’s daughter, Kimberly Raty. “Nothing was ever painted on the dolls she made us. Every detail was sewn by hand.”

An Oklahoma native whose family settled in Ventura County in the 1940s, Wallace learned early to create something special from meager supplies.

Her children sometimes teased their mother for what they called her “Okie-isms,” such as her fondness for inventing nicknames, her superstitions and her strong character, Raty said. A gifted cook and talented gardener, Wallace defied being stereotyped as a grandmother, she added.

An able pool player, Wallace taught her sons the game, Raty said. Married three times, Wallace at times supported her family by working as a waitress at Maxie’s and The Hilltop, both bars in Oak View.

Before arthritis stiffened her hands, Wallace bowled with a league in Ojai.

In addition to Raty, Wallace is survived by sons Robert Babb, Jamie Peterson and Donald Babb; daughter Donita Babb; nine stepchildren; numerous grandchildren, and sisters Betty Etchison of Ojai, Billie Mellor and Sybil Roberts. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Wallace.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today in the Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary Chapel, Santa Paula. A private interment will be held at the Nordhoff Cemetery in Ojai.

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Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.