Susan Ellen Ulmer Wallace, 65, widow of Myles Stuart Wallace, died March 5, 2017.

Born in Demopolis, Alabama, she is a daughter of Nellie Regina Whitfield Ulmer of Demopolis and the late Millard Barton Ulmer.

She was a graduate of the Demopolis schools, earned her Bachelors and Masters Degree from University of Alabama and her PhD in Agronomy from Iowa State University.  Susan Ulmer (later Wallace, after meeting Myles, a Professor of Economics) came to Clemson University in 1980 from Iowa State University, where she received her Ph.D. She was hired as Assistant Professor in the Agronomy and Soils Department, teaching and doing research in crop physiology. She taught courses in plant science, seed technology, environmental science and crop physiology and ecology and was honored by the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences for her teaching talents. She directed the course work and research of several masters and doctoral students, and her office door was always open to any student with a question or concern.

Her research was primarily with soybeans, and her emphasis was on how the crop responded to various management practices, such as tillage and seeding rates, and to stress factors like drought and damage from excessive deer populations. Interdisciplinary cooperation was a hallmark of Dr. Wallace’s research, which helped increase the impact of her research on the well being of the state’s farmers. She was widely published in the Agronomy Journal and Crop Science, and was an active member of the American Society of Agronomy. She always insisted that her graduate students publish their findings in reputable scientific journals, which assisted them in getting a good start on productive careers.

Another talent of Dr. Wallace was her ability to relate to farmers and their crop production problems. She was always in demand as a speaker at field days, county agent in-service trainings and crop advisor events. She enjoyed the interaction with the people who farmed and those who talked to farmers. 

Susan was a member of the D.A.R., Colonial Dames and Magna Charta Dames.  She was a member of Temple of Israel in Greenville, South Carolina. Susan enjoyed teaching, working with farmers, traveling, kayaking and writing.

Surviving are her brother, M.B. Ulmer and wife, Lewanna Caldwell of Inman, South Carolina; sister, Regina Galloway and husband, James of Demopolis; nephews, Cole and Bart Galloway and Richard Wallace; nieces, Kristi and Kim Ulmer; great nieces and nephews, Eitan Ulmer, Nell, Nico, Nathan, and Nevan Galloway, Justin, Dayna and Bradley Wallace.

Funeral services were held Friday, March 10, at 1 p.m., in the chapel of Duckett-Robinson Funeral Home in Central, South Carolina with Rabbi Jeremy Master officiating. Burial was in Woodland Cemetery on the campus of Clemson University.

The family received friends from noon to 12:50 p.m., Friday, at the funeral home prior to the service.

The family requests that flowers be omitted and memorials be made to Demopolis City Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 1338, Demopolis, AL 36732, Pickens County Humane Society, 500 5 Forks Road, Liberty, SC 29657, or to South Carolina State Botanical Gardens, 150 Discovery Lane, Clemson, SC 29631. Condolences may be expressed online at www.robinsonfuneralhomes.com or at the funeral home.

(This obituary appeared in the March 18, 2017 print edition of the Demopolis Times.)