Pamela Joy Coveney was born in Manhattan on April 15, 1948, to George Clifton Coveney and Constance M. Humphrey Coveney. She often spoke of her father’s Caribbean heritage in the country of Trinidad and Tobago. A year after her birth, Pamela’s parents built a home in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, where they spent many enjoyable summers. Their Harlem home was in the prestigious Dunbar, where many famous Black intellectuals and performers lived. Later they resided on the admired and respected Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard until her parents retired to the Vineyard.
In elementary school, Pamela’s father encouraged her to take piano lessons. Showing promise in STEM, she was accepted into the prestigious Bronx School for Science, graduating in 1965. When a classmate smiled at her entering her first class, she relaxed, feeling a friendly connection. As a result, at the tender age of 13, she realized the impact of a sincere smile as an instant signal of warmth and approachability. A bright, genuine smile became one of Pamela’s notable character traits. In 1965, when Pamela entered the freshman class at Sarah Lawrence College, she quickly became known for her skills as a photographer. She took individual and group photos of classmates, and served as photographer for the student newspaper in 1967. After a two-year sabbatical, she returned to campus and completed her bachelor of arts degree in 1972.
Upon earning a juris doctorate in 1979 from the Delaware Law School of Widener University, she passed the bar in several states. Her path led to service in two federal courts: U.S. District Court, District of Columbia; and U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts. Settling in the Boston area, she noted her most significant work came later with the Disability Law Center (DLC), from 2001 until retirement in 2020. DLC is a private, nonprofit organization providing protection and advocacy for the rights of Massachusetts residents with disabilities. As an effective legal voice for children and adults, Pamela believed she had found her purpose in life.
As an avid tennis player, she conscientiously followed championship games globally, especially Paris for the French Open. Two of her favorite pastimes were art and history. A true aesthete, Pamela was a frequent gallery- and museumgoer in Boston and New York, holding several memberships. She also traveled to African American civil rights museums throughout the country. In 2016, her most memorable museum visit came when viewing her family in Stanley Nelson’s “A Place of Our Own.” On display at the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History, this documentary of Black families living in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard is a historic masterpiece.
Upon retirement, Pamela moved from her home in Randolph to Martha’s Vineyard, into the house she built in 1989-1990 on the same land where her parents built the original family home. She affectionately named it “Connie’s Place,” in honor of her mother; and placed her father’s piano in a special music room. Similar to the Dunbar in Harlem, Oak Bluffs has always served as a haven of rest for African Americans. Regardless if a person was a house servant or a historic figure, the Vineyard provided a respite from the strains of political and economic inequities. Her retirement was spent sorting ephemera and other sentimental family heirlooms. She also returned to the piano and photography. She was gracious to houseguests, and loved sharing the relaxed lifestyle of the Vineyard.
Pamela’s final resting place is in the family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery in Oak Bluffs. A memorial service is planned in the near future.
Pamela was preceded in death by her parents, George and Connie Coveney. She is survived by a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Rest in peace, dear Pamela, as we celebrate your life well-lived.
