Wallace Meadows

Published 11:29 am Friday, March 28, 2025

Wallace Meadows was born June 14, 1940 in Lanett, Alabama to Rev. Ernest E. Meadows  and Odessa Williams Meadows. He dedicated his life to carpentry, agriculture and music  and enjoyed success in those endeavors.

Shortly after his birth, the family relocated to the Park City neighborhood of Chattanooga,  TN. It was there that, at the age of 8, he first became fascinated with carpentry when a  carpenter doing repairs at his childhood home took an interest in him and showed him the  correct way to pound nails into wood. His love for building things was born and he began  doing small repairs around the house. He graduated from Howard High School Class of  1958 where he was an honor roll student and an active member of the social club The  Sharks and even participated in some sit-ins to help integrate lunch counters in downtown  Chattanooga. Along with brothers Wilson and Eugene, and close friends Emmanuel  Thompson and Robert Eppinger, he created a singing group called The Zircons and signed  with King Records in Cincinnati, OH in 1962. The songs “No Tiwisting on Sunday” and “Get  Up and Go to School,” were among their early recordings released in the 1960s. With  brothers Wilson and Eugene, he formed a sibling trio, The Meadows Brothers, and in 1981  the group released their eponymous album The Meadows featuring the hit singles “She’s  Gone” and “Don’t Take it Away. ” Later, his musical career continued with The Impressions.

He attended Tennessee State University where he studied electrical engineering. He  worked for Tennessee Valley Authority and founded Wallace Meadows Construction  Company, which was chosen as one of the companies to work on the construction of  Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, TN.

In 1984, he followed in the footsteps of his father and was ordained as a minister and  served as Associate Pastor of Hawkinsville Missionary Baptist Church. He was known for  his green thumb and grew many thriving gardens of flowers, fruits and vegetables. He had a  passion for sharing knowledge about agriculture with anyone who would listen and even  called himself ‘The Garden Preacher’ . He was generous with the knowledge he gained from  reading books about history, geography and volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Wallace was preceded in death by his father, Rev. Ernest E. Meadows; his mother, Odessa Williams Meadows; his brothers Herbert, Charlie, Euguene, and Joe; and his sister, Fannie Pearl.

He leaves to cherish his memory ten children, Wallace Dwyane Douglas (Toledo, OH);  Wallace (Lucretia) Meadows Jr. (Atlanta, GA); Michele Meadows (Cleveland, OH); Eric  Tolliver; Michael (Patricia) Tolliver (Bellaire, OH); Mario Jones (Cleveland, OH); Dexter

(Monique) Staples (Chattanooga, TN); Tamarra Mace (Cleveland, OH); Patrice Meadows  (Atlanta, GA); Melika Meadows (Greg) Heinrich (Atlanta, GA); brother Wilson (Jeanette)  Meadows (Douglasville, GA); sisters Mamie (George) Moore (Louisville, KY); Lena (James)  Ansley (Chattanooga, TN) and Linda (Inman) Montgomery (Chattanooga, TN); many grandchildren; several great-grandchildren, loved ones, and friends.

A funeral service in celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 12:30  PM at Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church in Lanett, Alabama. His ashes will be interred  at Greenwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the  Black Belt Justice Center, a nonprofit that supports African American farmers, landowners,  and communities in efforts to retain and increase land ownership to ensure  intergenerational and community wealth.