Gilanne Wallace Uptmor

Gilanne Wallace Uptmor of Justin passed away on the 29th of June 2025, following a lengthy illness brought about by complications from diabetes. The firstborn child of the late Mary Blake Wallace and the late Gilbert Wallace, she is survived by her five siblings: Karen Griffith (and husband Larry) of Allen; Dave Wallace of Hartshorne, OK; Russ Wallace of Terrell; Matt Wallace (and husband Juan Luarca) of Santa Fe, NM; and Becky Hathcock (and husband LaRon) of Terrell. At the end of Gilanne’s life, it was Becky who worked tirelessly as her sister’s advocate during many hospitalizations. Gilanne was born in Terrell on the 12th of January, 1952. She began school there before the family relocated first to Victoria, then to Santa Barbara, CA. In the mid-60s, the Wallaces returned to her hometown where she graduated from Terrell High School in 1970. After a brief stint as a telephone operator in Houston, she came back to Terrell before her father’s death that same year. He’d wanted her to care for her youngest siblings while their mother worked to support the family, but Mary objected. She told her oldest child, “You’re a young woman with your whole life ahead of you, and you need to go out and live it.” Mary knew best. Gilanne then attended cosmetology school in Dallas. This is where she became a redhead, and since it often complemented her temper she kept the hair color for the rest of her life. (Though there was a brief “blonde era” when she was in her late 50s.) She began her career as a hairdresser at the Lavender Salon in Terrell, and through the years she had a chair at many other salons as well, including two she owned --- the Family Hair Saloon in Plano, and First Impressions Hair Salon in Justin. In between she was a sales rep for LaMaur Cosmetics, covering upper Oklahoma and all of Kansas; she tried her hand at office work for an insurance company; she managed a Sally Beauty Supply; she ran the fabric department of a Walmart; and, she was once a floral designer for Tom Thumb. Though she loved her clients and “making them pretty,”Gilanne was perhaps happiest when crafting or at her sewing machine. An accomplished seamstress since her teens, Gilanne once made her own wedding dress, and she looked beautiful in it. As a younger woman, she also loved dancing at honkytonks all over North and East Texas; from Belle Star in Dallas to Lee’s Silver Fox in Terrell, if there was a two-stepping contest you can be assured Gilanne competed and probably brought home a trophy or two. Gilanne’s greatest joy in life was being MamMaw to Zoe and Parker. In addition to her devotion to these grandchildren, she was also with their grandfather through his health challenges for many years; her husband John Uptmor preceded her in death in September of 2024. She truly loved her nieces and nephews and their children as well. She leaves behind Lauren O’Roark (and children Dylan, John, and Eden); Ray Wallace (and wife Joni); Steven Wallace; Trevor Wallace (and daughters Violet and Ruby); Leah Cranford (and husband Casey and their son Connor); and Sydney Maldonado (and husband Erik). All are welcome at a memorial service to honor Gilanne, to be held at the First United Methodist Church of Terrell at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday, July 12th . The family will also receive guests in the church’s fellowship hall immediately after the service. Should you ever find yourself near a slot machine, give it a go and think of Gilanne… she had a mad passion for casinos. And let’s not forget the bingo halls --- that woman could flat wear out a bingo dobber. If you’re listening to a little George Strait, she’d like that, too.

Tributes

Gilanne Wallace Uptmor

June 29, 2025