Mrs. Wallace, a child of the conservative Iowa farmlands, was an intensely private person whose entire life seemed to be her husband and children.

Yet she graciously suffered the public role pressed upon her as Washington hostess and occasional campaigner while Mr. Wallace served first as Secretary of Agriculture and then as Vice President under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and subsequently as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman. Mr. Wallace ran for President in 1948 as the candidate of the Progressive Party.

With unassuming personal charm, Mrs. Wallace stood in reception lines and often attended functions as a substitute for Mrs. Roosevelt. But she refused to give interviews or make speeches. Concern for Small Farmer

During World War II, she sponsored the Patrick Henry, the first of the nation's vast fleet of Liberty ships, and served as a Red Cross worker. She spent her summers at the Wallace home in Iowa, where she gardened, rode horses and did what the Wallaces were known for in the capital - discussing farm topics.

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She deeply shared her husband's concern for the small farmer and did what she could to educate those who counted in Washington on the topic.

After Mr. Wallace broke with the Democrats in 1946 over President Truman's stern policy toward the Soviet Union, the Wallaces moved to the farm they had bought in South Salem, in Westchester County.

Mrs. Wallace campaigned for her husband in 1948, and began giving occasional speeches and interviews. In one interview, she recalled her years in the capital. 'Just Party After Party'

''Life in Washington,'' she said, ''was just party after party, luncheon after luncheon, dinner after dinner. You have to entertain, and you must observe protocol. I remember once I invited too much rank to a dinner party and finally had to turn to the State Department to help me with seating arrangements, to make sure no one was hurt by being seated too far down the table.''

She also defended Mr. Wallace against those who questioned his loyalty to America but conceded that he had a problem clarifying his statements.

''I don't think my husband always helps things,'' she said. ''He puts his worst foot forward.'' Real-Estate Broker's Daughter