Wallace W. Baumann Collection

BAUMANN, WALLACE WOODRUFF - age 84 of Knoxville, died suddenly, Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. Wallace was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on April 19, 1925 to the late A.B. Baumann, Jr. and Lucy Woodruff Baumann. Wallace was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church and served as Deacon, Elder and Sunday School Teacher for the James Park Bible Class.

He was a graduate of Darlington School and served in the United States Army, 10th Armored Division during World War II, serving in Europe and in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Following his military discharge, Wallace attended the University of Tennessee, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity before entering his business career at W.W. Woodruff Hardware Company on Gay Street that was started by his great-grandfather, Captain W. W. Woodruff in 1865.

During Wallace's business career, he served on many boards, including the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, Knox County Chapter of Red Cross, the Knoxville Rotary Club, the Downtown Knoxville Association and Knoxville Tourist Bureau. Wallace served for many years on the Knoxville Symphony Society Board and as past President. He was currently serving as historian on the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation Board and as a member of the U.T. Library Friends Executive Committee. Wallace was also the President of the Lawson McGhee Library "Old Board". He served as Kappa Sigma's International President from 1993 to 1995.

Wallace is survived by his sisters and brother-in-law, Ethel Baumann Skaggs and Lucy Baumann and Russ Zemp; nephews, William Carter Skaggs, III, Wallace Woodruff Skaggs and Thomas Baumann Skaggs; nieces, Lucy Zemp (Andy) Garrabrants, Elizabeth Zemp and Ross Cheek and Katherine Zemp; great nephew and nieces, William, Elizabeth and Laura Cheek.

A celebration of Wallace's life will be held 2:00 P.M. Friday at First Presbyterian Church with Dr. William Pender and Dr. Paul Rader officiating. Interment will be private. The family will receive friends following the service in the Fellowship Hall. Honorary pallbearers, members of the James Park Bible Class and the Coffee Club.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to First Presbyterian Church, 620 State Street, Knoxville, TN 37902; the Historical Tennessee Theatre Foundation, P.O. Box 272, Knoxville, TN 37901-0272 or the Knoxville Symphony Society, P.O. box 360, Knoxville, TN 37901-0360. Arrangements provided by Rose Mortuary Mann Heritage Chapel. (from Knoxville News-Sentinel 08/13/2009)

A former ETHS board member and a businessman with the family firm of W.W. Woodruff ’s Hardware Company, Wallace W. Baumann passed away in 2009 leaving a generous bequest to ETHS. The bequest has been added to the ETHS Foundation to support the organization's educational mission far into the future. Wallace was an authority on theater history, especially that of Knoxville, and was a leader in the campaign to restore the Tennessee Theatre, the city’s grand movie palace. (from ETHS)