James Wallace, Metuchen councilman, dies at 75

James Wallace Jr. was a retired fire chief and a retired police sergeant. "He was just a real public servant," Mayor Peter Cammerano said.

METUCHEN -- James A. Wallace Jr., a councilman and dedicated public servant in the borough, died on Monday. He was 75.

Wallace was a former fire chief and a retired Metuchen police sergeant. He was also the former Office of Emergency Management director for Metuchen.

James Wallace Jr. died at the age of 75 on Monday. (Courtesy of Metuchen Fire Department)

Most recently, he served on the borough council since 2010. Wallace's term was up at the end of this year, but he decided not to run for re-election.

Mayor Peter Cammerano said Wallace "was truly a Metuchenite." Wallace was born and raised in the Middlesex County borough of roughly 14,000 people.

"He never dreamed of living anywhere else," Cammerano said. "He could tell you who lived at a certain house for the last 40 years, and what colors it had been painted over time. He was just a real public servant, he really was."

Cammerano said Wallace suffered a series of strokes about two years ago. He had battled back, Cammerano said, and was able to drive again and walk fine.

"He was a character in the most positive way you could imagine," the mayor said.

Wallace took the greatest pride in being a member of the Metuchen Fire Department, Cammerano said. He joined the department in 1961.

"He was always the first guy from the department to respond to a call," Cammerano said. "When he couldn't do it anymore, it really hit him hard."

Fire Chief Robert Donnan said not one firefighter in his 28 years in the Metuchen department could match Wallace's experience fighting fires.

"He's been to more fires than all the people in the department put together," Donnan said.

Donnan said Wallace was a mentor and a "stand up great guy who would do anything for anybody."

"He was like a father in the fire service for me," Donnan said. "He was always there. You could always count on him being there."

Since Wallace's death, many Metuchen residents have taken to social media to offer their condolences to the Wallace family. 

Wallace's funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Costello-Runyon, 568 Middlesex Avenue (Route 27), in Metuchen. Visitation will be held Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. also at Costello-Runyon.