Uriel H. Wallace III, 59, reading specialist
His concern was always for young people who needed his kind of guidance.
JEFF HORN got an early look at the man Tersh Wallace would become.
Jeff was 8 at the time, a new kid in a West Philadelphia neighborhood and feeling kind of lonely. One day, Jeff was bouncing a ball against a wall, and this big kid came along on a bicycle.
"He immediately rode over to me and introduced himself," Jeff said. "A few minutes later, we were taking turns throwing the ball and riding his bike.
"That's the kind of kid Tersh was then and would remain for the rest of his life. He was a one-person welcome wagon."
His full name was Uriel Hamilton Wallace III, called Tersh by family and friends. He grew up and became a talented educator, pianist, organist, singer, composer, youth leader, swimmer, coach, lifeguard - a long list of accomplishments by a gifted man whose main concern was caring for others.
He died of cancer Thursday. He was 59 and lived in West Philadelphia.
Horn, a teacher and onetime editorial assistant for the Daily News, was a lifelong friend. In their youth, Jeff said, Tersh "literally knew something about everything at a time in our lives when the rest of us knew very little about anything. He was a renaissance kid."
"If you asked Tersh how to do something, he wouldn't show you, he would teach you. He was a natural-born teacher. He had a laugh that could be heard for blocks, and he never shied from using it."
Composing the school song for the Academy at Palumbo, where his sister Adrienne Chew is the high school's principal, was a highlight of his musical career.
He was present when the first class graduated on June 11, 2010, and the song was first performed. Then last month, although ill, he heard the song performed by a full orchestra at the fourth graduation, and he was acknowledged from the podium as its composer.
Tersh was employed by the school district for more than 20 years as a reading specialist at the Middle Years Alternative School, the Beeber Wynnefield Alternative Program at Beeber Junior High School, and George C. Thomas Middle School.
He also taught at the Barrett Annex at Frank Palumbo Elementary School, now the Academy at Palumbo. He specialized in facilitating students into select high schools.
Tersh was born in Philadelphia to Uriel H. Wallace Jr. and Cynthia Comer Wallace, both retired Philadelphia schoolteachers.
He graduated in 1971 from Overbrook High School, where he wrote for the school paper, sang with the Overbrook Madrigal Singers and was a star swimmer, among other activities.
He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Joseph's University.
As part of his commitment to helping needy young people, Tersh worked summers as a counselor at Camp William Penn, a camp for inner-city youngsters in East Stroudsburg, Monroe County.
During his teaching career, he worked summers for 10 years as a lifeguard at city pools.
He trained winning swim teams with this advice: "I told them to use the same leg momentum and force they had when going up to dunk the basketball and apply it to their racing dives," he once said. "When I took my team to swim meets and my swimmers did their racing dives, they were already halfway down the pool, so they won all the time."
In the 1970s, Tersh played the electronic keyboard for the Jamaican reggae band House of Assembly. His paternal grandparents were born in Jamaica, so he had a natural affinity for reggae.
The band played regularly at Grendel's Lair on South Street, opened at Penn's Landing for Bob Marley, and were on the same bill with comedian Dick Gregory at the Band Box.
In recent years, Tersh enjoyed spending time with his godson, Alex Brown, 6. He taught the boy to read in record time, taught him how to cook and worked on crafts projects with him.
"Tersh got to share his creative genius and experience Alex's brilliance and sheer joy in being with him," his family said.
Besides his parents and sister, he is survived by another sister, Barbara Wallace.
Services: 11 a.m. Friday at St. Simon the Cyrenian Episcopal Church, 22nd and Reed streets. Friends may call at 9 a.m. A musical program will feature his songs.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a scholarship fund for his godson, StarSpirit International Inc., P.O. Box 42048, Philadelphia 19101.