Margaret Wallace

Margaret Wallace, 96, passed away peacefully at home on July 12, 2025. 

She was born on January 28, 1929 in Duryea, Pennsylvania to Stanley and Anna Zvijach. Marge graduated from Duryea High School in 1946. 

Her mother passed away when she was 11, and Marge largely credited her older sister, Anna, with raising her. She loved her nieces Margie, Louise, and nephew Michael as if they were her siblings. 

In 1947 she left Duryea to work in the Catskills in NY where she met Bernard Wallace. On October 29th in 1949 she married Bernie who predeceased her in 2011 after 62 years of marriage.  

In 1956 they settled in Berkeley Heights, NJ. In 1966 the family moved to Chester, NJ and they started Bernie's Hillside Lounge. Marge lived in Chester, NJ for nearly 55 years before moving to East Stroudsburg, PA with her daughter, Susan. 

Marge enjoyed traveling, especially cruises, and visiting family and friends. She loved going to soap opera weekends in FL and meeting the stars. She especially loved polka dancing. She was a fantastic cook who often expressed her love and affection with a delicious hot meal. 

Marge will be remembered as a genuinely loving and selfless woman, who showed unwavering support to her family. She was the owner of Bernie's Hillside Lounge, in Chester NJ, where she proudly and tirelessly filled every role with a welcoming smile on her face. She was well known for her signature, crowd pleasing, pickled eggs and Haluski. It brought her joy to build a business and leave a legacy that would provide for her family for generations.

Marge was a proud member and officer of the Morris County Licensed Beverage Association, serving as Secretary and Vice President in the 1980's.

She is survived by her son, Bernie Wallace, Jr. (wife, Connie) of Great Meadows; daughter Susan Wallace of East Stroudsburg, PA; granddaughter Tory Wallace of Austin, TX; grandson, Eric Wallace (fiancé, Elizabeth Tremain) of Long Valley, NJ; and granddaughter, Jenna Wallace of Great Meadows, NJ.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday August 5th, 2025 at 11:00am at St. Lawrence Church, 375 Main Street Chester, NJ 07930.

A repast, welcoming family and friends, will follow immediately after at Bernie’s Hillside Lounge, 125 Hillside Rd, Chester, NJ 07930. 

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