Rosalia J. Costa-Clarke, a socially active Philadelphia attorney and Pittsburgh native, died Wednesday from complications with her pregnancy. She was 37.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke, known as Lilly, worked at Wachovia Bank, where she was an assistant deputy general counsel for labor and employment.
Though quiet, she was a fierce negotiator, fighting to save the jobs and employment benefits of her clients.
She was at work on a conference call when, according to co-workers, she said, "Oh, my God," put her hands to her face, closed her eyes and died.
She was two weeks from her due date. Physicians delivered the baby, Joseph Robert, her first child, named after his grandfathers.
Her oldest brother, Dr. Frank Costa, an O'Hara urologic surgeon, said the baby, born on the same day as his paternal granddad, was doing well.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke was raised in Morningside in a proud Italian family.
Her father, Joseph Costa, immigrated to Pittsburgh from Italy in 1936. He made his living as a shoemaker but sent his five children to college and professional school before he died last year.
After she finished at Mount Alvernia High School in Millvale, Mrs. Costa-Clarke went to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with honors in 1989 with a degree in political science and European studies. She earned her law degree in 1992 from the Pitt Law School.
After a brief stint with a Pittsburgh law firm, she moved to Philadelphia in 1994, and worked for the city's second-largest firm, Blank-Rome, where she specialized in labor and employment law.
For the past five years, she worked for Wachovia Bank.
In the City of Brotherly Love, Mrs. Costa-Clarke was on the board of the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, the nation's oldest organization to honor Old Glory. She also worked with the Philadelphia Hero Scholarship Fund, which supports the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke enjoyed the opera, especially Puccini, and was an avid reader who spoke several languages.
Besides her newborn son and her brother, she is survived by her husband, William; her mother, Antoinetta LoPardo Costa; brother, Alfonso A. Costa, of Fox Chapel; and sisters, Dr. Maria Costa-Greco, of Fox Chapel and Antoinette A. Costa Barbuto, of Hopewell.
Friends will be received tonight from 7 to 9 and tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at John A. Freyvogel Sons Funeral Home, 4900 Centre Ave., Shadyside. A Mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in St. Raphael Church, Morningside.
Donations can be made to the Rosalia Costa-Clarke Scholarship Fund, c/o S&T Bank, 800 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke, known as Lilly, worked at Wachovia Bank, where she was an assistant deputy general counsel for labor and employment.
Though quiet, she was a fierce negotiator, fighting to save the jobs and employment benefits of her clients.
She was at work on a conference call when, according to co-workers, she said, "Oh, my God," put her hands to her face, closed her eyes and died.
She was two weeks from her due date. Physicians delivered the baby, Joseph Robert, her first child, named after his grandfathers.
Her oldest brother, Dr. Frank Costa, an O'Hara urologic surgeon, said the baby, born on the same day as his paternal granddad, was doing well.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke was raised in Morningside in a proud Italian family.
Her father, Joseph Costa, immigrated to Pittsburgh from Italy in 1936. He made his living as a shoemaker but sent his five children to college and professional school before he died last year.
After she finished at Mount Alvernia High School in Millvale, Mrs. Costa-Clarke went to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with honors in 1989 with a degree in political science and European studies. She earned her law degree in 1992 from the Pitt Law School.
After a brief stint with a Pittsburgh law firm, she moved to Philadelphia in 1994, and worked for the city's second-largest firm, Blank-Rome, where she specialized in labor and employment law.
For the past five years, she worked for Wachovia Bank.
In the City of Brotherly Love, Mrs. Costa-Clarke was on the board of the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, the nation's oldest organization to honor Old Glory. She also worked with the Philadelphia Hero Scholarship Fund, which supports the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke enjoyed the opera, especially Puccini, and was an avid reader who spoke several languages.
Besides her newborn son and her brother, she is survived by her husband, William; her mother, Antoinetta LoPardo Costa; brother, Alfonso A. Costa, of Fox Chapel; and sisters, Dr. Maria Costa-Greco, of Fox Chapel and Antoinette A. Costa Barbuto, of Hopewell.
Friends will be received tonight from 7 to 9 and tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at John A. Freyvogel Sons Funeral Home, 4900 Centre Ave., Shadyside. A Mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in St. Raphael Church, Morningside.
Donations can be made to the Rosalia Costa-Clarke Scholarship Fund, c/o S&T Bank, 800 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701.
Rosalia J. Costa-Clarke, a socially active Philadelphia attorney and Pittsburgh native, died Wednesday from complications with her pregnancy. She was 37.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke, known as Lilly, worked at Wachovia Bank, where she was an assistant deputy general counsel for labor and employment.
Though quiet, she was a fierce negotiator, fighting to save the jobs and employment benefits of her clients.
She was at work on a conference call when, according to co-workers, she said, "Oh, my God," put her hands to her face, closed her eyes and died.
She was two weeks from her due date. Physicians delivered the baby, Joseph Robert, her first child, named after his grandfathers.
Her oldest brother, Dr. Frank Costa, an O'Hara urologic surgeon, said the baby, born on the same day as his paternal granddad, was doing well.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke was raised in Morningside in a proud Italian family.
Her father, Joseph Costa, immigrated to Pittsburgh from Italy in 1936. He made his living as a shoemaker but sent his five children to college and professional school before he died last year.
After she finished at Mount Alvernia High School in Millvale, Mrs. Costa-Clarke went to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with honors in 1989 with a degree in political science and European studies. She earned her law degree in 1992 from the Pitt Law School.
After a brief stint with a Pittsburgh law firm, she moved to Philadelphia in 1994, and worked for the city's second-largest firm, Blank-Rome, where she specialized in labor and employment law.
For the past five years, she worked for Wachovia Bank.
In the City of Brotherly Love, Mrs. Costa-Clarke was on the board of the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, the nation's oldest organization to honor Old Glory. She also worked with the Philadelphia Hero Scholarship Fund, which supports the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke enjoyed the opera, especially Puccini, and was an avid reader who spoke several languages.
Besides her newborn son and her brother, she is survived by her husband, William; her mother, Antoinetta LoPardo Costa; brother, Alfonso A. Costa, of Fox Chapel; and sisters, Dr. Maria Costa-Greco, of Fox Chapel and Antoinette A. Costa Barbuto, of Hopewell.
Friends will be received tonight from 7 to 9 and tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at John A. Freyvogel Sons Funeral Home, 4900 Centre Ave., Shadyside. A Mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in St. Raphael Church, Morningside.
Donations can be made to the Rosalia Costa-Clarke Scholarship Fund, c/o S&T Bank, 800 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke, known as Lilly, worked at Wachovia Bank, where she was an assistant deputy general counsel for labor and employment.
Though quiet, she was a fierce negotiator, fighting to save the jobs and employment benefits of her clients.
She was at work on a conference call when, according to co-workers, she said, "Oh, my God," put her hands to her face, closed her eyes and died.
She was two weeks from her due date. Physicians delivered the baby, Joseph Robert, her first child, named after his grandfathers.
Her oldest brother, Dr. Frank Costa, an O'Hara urologic surgeon, said the baby, born on the same day as his paternal granddad, was doing well.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke was raised in Morningside in a proud Italian family.
Her father, Joseph Costa, immigrated to Pittsburgh from Italy in 1936. He made his living as a shoemaker but sent his five children to college and professional school before he died last year.
After she finished at Mount Alvernia High School in Millvale, Mrs. Costa-Clarke went to the University of Pittsburgh, graduating with honors in 1989 with a degree in political science and European studies. She earned her law degree in 1992 from the Pitt Law School.
After a brief stint with a Pittsburgh law firm, she moved to Philadelphia in 1994, and worked for the city's second-largest firm, Blank-Rome, where she specialized in labor and employment law.
For the past five years, she worked for Wachovia Bank.
In the City of Brotherly Love, Mrs. Costa-Clarke was on the board of the Philadelphia Flag Day Association, the nation's oldest organization to honor Old Glory. She also worked with the Philadelphia Hero Scholarship Fund, which supports the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.
Mrs. Costa-Clarke enjoyed the opera, especially Puccini, and was an avid reader who spoke several languages.
Besides her newborn son and her brother, she is survived by her husband, William; her mother, Antoinetta LoPardo Costa; brother, Alfonso A. Costa, of Fox Chapel; and sisters, Dr. Maria Costa-Greco, of Fox Chapel and Antoinette A. Costa Barbuto, of Hopewell.
Friends will be received tonight from 7 to 9 and tomorrow from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at John A. Freyvogel Sons Funeral Home, 4900 Centre Ave., Shadyside. A Mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in St. Raphael Church, Morningside.
Donations can be made to the Rosalia Costa-Clarke Scholarship Fund, c/o S&T Bank, 800 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701.
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