Memorial Celebrates Life of Latino Advocate Davis : Funeral: Attorney carried torch for his people, winning landmark case and leading local opposition to Prop. 187.

About 700 mourners Thursday remembered Wallace R. (Wally) Davis, a longtime Latino rights activist, as a passionate and caring man who always found time to help others.

“Wally was my mentor,” said Santa Ana attorney Alfredo M. Amezcua. “When I passed my bar exam, he sat down with me for 2 1/2 hours to share with me his knowledge, because he wanted me to succeed.”

Davis, 59, was best known as the attorney whose successful lawsuit against the Santa Ana Unified School District in 1968 abolished a practice of placing disproportionate numbers of Latino students in a program for the mentally retarded. He died Saturday of a heart attack in Santa Ana while playing basketball, his favorite sport.

In attendance at funeral services at Holy Family Cathedral and Holy Sepulcher Cemetery were Orange County judges, educators, politicians, community activists and attorneys.

Davis, who played the saxophone, was known in Orange County colleges, universities, schools, human rights organizations and political circles for his tireless efforts on Latino issues.

Most recently, he worked on the campaign to elect Miguel Pulido, an eight-year council veteran, mayor of Santa Ana.

Davis, who volunteered his legal services to numerous Latino rights organizations, helped the Santa Ana chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens raise money for the 30,000 mailers denouncing Proposition 187.

The initiative, which passed overwhelmingly, bans social services, education and all but emergency health care to illegal immigrants. Its implementation has been temporarily blocked by a federal court judge.

“Wally was our legal counsel,” said Arturo Montez, LULAC’s president. “He was going to handle all the Proposition 187 lawsuits for us. Now, we’re left without any legal counsel whatsoever.. . . .

“He had never lost a case for us. . . . Everything he did was with passion, with heart.”

Cory Aguirre, a Fullerton attorney, said close friend Davis “touched a lot of people. It’s amazing what one man can do.”

Davis, who was of Mexican American, Juaneno Indian and Anglo heritage, “was born to fight for what we all know is right,” said UC Irvine Prof. Manuel Gomez.

Friend Vera Perez said: “Wally was always ready to help and always believed in helping youth. I remember him as a wonderful, beautiful person who was always there for you, always with a smile.”

Davis’ seven children--daughters Anja Friday, Marisa Timothy, Nadia and Sabrina, and sons Mark, Luke and Erik--delivered tearful eulogies, describing their father as a pillar in the family and the Latino community. They read poems, told of their father’s struggles against racism as a child and sang his favorite song, “Sentimental Journey.”

Mark Davis, 31, said his father was writing an autobiography when he died. One passage told how Davis was tossed out of elementary school “like trash” because of his race, but he managed to “land on his feet.” Throughout his life, Davis said, his father continued to land on his feet.

“My daddy wrote a song for me to tell me of his love,” said Marisa Timothy, 28, her voice trembling. “He wrote a song for you, too. His instruments were faith and hope and the melody was love.”

Davis, of Santa Ana, is also survived by his wife of 33 years, Irmgard, 59, and six grandchildren.