Mike passed away on August 3, 2024, another victim of the terrorist attack on 9/11.

Born September 20, 1956, Mike was the last of seven children born to Mary and George Wallace of Corona, Queens. As the youngest, Michael had a special bond with his mother, which lasted throughout both their lives. In 1961, his family moved to Queens Village on the Queens/Nassau border, where Mike grew up. He attended Saint Joachim & Anne School and Saint Pascal‘s High School, graduating in 1976.

After high school, Michael went to work for Sears and sold many lawn mowers and snowblowers.
Coming from a large civil service family, Mike always aspired to work for the FDNY. His older brother and several cousins worked for the NYPD. His father, uncle, brother, brother-in-law, and two cousins worked for the FDNY. It was a proud day in 1983 when Mike was appointed to the Fire Department of the City of New York.

After probie school, he was assigned to Engine 35 in Harlem, where he learned his trade. Mike transferred to Engine 251 on the Queens/Nassau border in 1989. He moved to Engine 320 on Francis Luis Boulevard for a time but eventually went back to Engine 251. He was assigned there on that terrible day in 2001 that changed the fire department and indeed the whole country forever.

Michael retired in 2003 and eventually moved upstate to Mount Tremper, New York. His family had spent every summer there since the day he was born, and he was able to fulfill a dream when he purchased the property with his brother and mother. Michael looked after his mother for the remainder of her life on that piece of ground that they both loved.

After his diagnosis, Mike went to live with his sister in Islip, where he passed away peacefully on August 2, 2024. A portion of his ashes were sprinkled at the property in Mount Tremper, and his spirit still inhabits the grounds.

Mike was a generous and caring man. He is fondly remembered and greatly missed by his family and friends.