Wallis (Wally) DaCosta

Sunrise April 6, 1941 - Sunset, March 5, 2013. Wally was born in New York City to James Walter Blackwell and Gladys Covington Blackwell, who predeceased her. She was one of 14 children. Wally married Philip DaCosta in 1965 and eventually divorced. She is survived by their son Damion DaCosta; her daughter-in-law, Catherine Davis; partner, Barbara Goldsmith; niece-daughter, Gia Blackwell; nine siblings; lifelong friend Sabine Mackrodt; as well as the rest of her very large family, and beloved Winnie. Wally attended Morgan State as well as LaGuardia Community College, where she graduated as one of the first Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants in the country. She was responsible for achieving independence for hundreds of patients. Her expertise was in wheelchair adaptability and adaptive equipment. She was honored to lecture around the country at an American Occupational Therapy Association national convention. Later in life, she owned and operated Nida's Alterations here in Albuquerque, where she lived for 23 years. Wally was a Jane-of-all-trades and her hobbies included carpentry, quilting, painting, dancing, gardening, guitar, traveling, and preparing the best Thanksgiving dinner in the country. Friends are invited to a memorial service on Saturday, March 23, 2013, 10:30 a.m., at FRENCH - Wyoming. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made in her name to The American Cancer Society, 10501 Montgomery Blvd. NE, Suite 300, Albuquerque, 87111, or Alliance for Lupus Research, 28 West 44th Street, Suite 501, New York, NY, 10036. Wally will be missed and loved forever by the many people whose lives she touched. CASE CLOSED!