On November 10, 2025, X’zavayen Davon Wallace was abruptly called home. X’zavayen, better known as “Zae” to family and “Sticks” to friends, was born on February 20, 2006, in Williamsburg, VA, to Ms. Shannon Wallace and Mr. Joseph Smith-Bethea Jr.
Zae was a handsome young man with a kind and beautiful spirit who touched everyone he encountered. No matter the kind of day that you were having, he would look at you with those big eyes, silly smile, crack a joke, all while telling you how much he loved you.
Zae enjoyed spending time with family, especially the little ones. At any function, you could find him surrounded by the kids or in deep conversations with his elders. And because of his old soul, he would fit right in. He began his early education in Newport News Public Schools before moving to New Jersey, where he started trade school with dreams of becoming a welder.
Zae was preceded in death by his maternal great-grandparents, Leonard and Catherine Wallace, and Sallie and Warren Freeman; paternal grandparents, Dorsine Smith and Joseph Earl Bethea Sr.; aunt Valerie Carter; cousin, Johnny Isaiah Wallace, who was more like a big brother; and uncles, Elmer Darnell Nazareth and Curtis Franklin.
Left to cherish his precious memories are his parents, Shannon Wallace and Joseph Smith-Bethea Jr.; grandparents, Alice Faye Wallace and Theotis Freeman; great-grandmother, Carrie Wallace; grandmother, Blondell Belin “Nan Nan”; godmother, Felicea Thompkins; great-godmother, Jeanette Lacks “GG Mommy”; siblings, Anyje’ Bynum-Wallace, Malani Wallace, Jayce Wallace, and Journey Culver; bonus brothers, Shamyr Royster, Torrion Hamlett, and Bryant Jones; bonus sisters, Portia Wallace, Jaanae Craig, and Amia Atkinson; nieces, Alaysia Wallace-Johnson and Zola Wallace-Cambian; godson, Zah’kari White; girlfriend, Destiny Moore; his village, Natisha Carter, LaFreda Davis, Selese Fort, Dominique Wallace, Devonta Nazareth, Jacob Zacharias, Jerome Cabble, Sheena Cabble, Mia Primus, and Carolyn McClendon; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends that will miss him dearly.
