Section of Yosemite Boulevard will be dedicated in memory of Deputy Dennis Wallace
A section of State Route 132 (Yosemite Boulevard) east of Empire will be dedicated as the Deputy Dennis Wallace Memorial Highway, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department has reported.
A naming ceremony will be held Saturday, Aug. 10, at the intersection of Yosemite and Root Road. It will be at 10 a.m. and open to the public.
Mercedes Wallace, the deputy’s widow, said Wednesday that the memorial highway dedication means the world to her and she continues to thank God for the love and support her family receives from the community. “He meant so much to so many people. If I could just see his face, see his reaction to this. He would have been in awe,” she said. “I don’t think he ever knew the impact he had on people.”
Dennis Wallace was fatally shot Nov. 13, 2016, while checking on a stolen van at the Fox Grove fishing access near Hughson. Suspect David Machado was arrested a few hours later.
The slain deputy, a longtime Hughson resident who spearheaded the youth soccer league in that city, was honored with the creation of a memorial garden in June 2017 at the Hughson Sports and Fitness complex. In September of that year, a sign was unveiled at the complex, renaming it the Deputy Dennis Wallace Soccer Fields.
“Every day when my husband put on his uniform and he wore his badge, he glowed and he was so proud to be a deputy sheriff and he really lived by code of ethics that badge stands for,” Mercedes Wallace told The Bee in an email Dec. 31. She was asked at the time if she had thoughts to share with the family of Newman police Cpl. Ronil Singh, who was shot and killed while making a traffic stop early Dec. 26.
She wanted to tell Anamika Singh, the corporal’s wife, “Evil will not win and we do survive even if we think our life is over. ... I can also tell her to be proud of the man her husband was in and out of uniform because they lived to help others and his legacy will live on with her and her son.”
Wallace added, “It really does help to have community support and showing of love and appreciation for our husbands knowing how much they loved their job and go out every day looking to make a difference in someone’s life and protect their community.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 8:43 AM.
