Althea Da Silva

East Windsor, NJ – Althea Da Silva, 71, slipped into eternity on October 24, 2025, at 6:20 a.m., leaving behind a trail of love, laughter, and the sweetest memories anyone could hope to inherit. Born in the heart of Brooklyn, NY, to Jewel Brown and the late John "Skipp" Purcell, Althea carried the rhythm of the city in her soul and the warmth of family in every step.

For more than a quarter-century, since 1998, East Windsor was home. The place where her kitchen filled with the aroma of her legendary dishes, where her camera captured every grin and sunset, and where her faith grew roots deep enough to steady us all. A powerhouse in the corporate world, Althea climbed the ladders of multiple Fortune 500 companies in New York City with grace, grit, and a smile that could close any deal.

But the real magic happened off the clock. Althea lived for Florida sunshine, spontaneous road trips, and turning ordinary moments into photographs worth framing. Her love was loud in the best way, wrapped in hugs, seasoned with kindness, and always served with a side of laughter.

Christmas and Thanksgiving were her favorite holidays. Seasons when the house glowed with twinkling lights and the table groaned under platters of turkey, candied yams, and her famous mac and cheese. She'd wake before dawn to stuff the bird, play Nat King Cole on repeat, and turn every gathering into a love letter written in food and family.

Disney World was Althea's personal wonderland, a place she returned to again and again to refill her spirit. She'd save every extra dollar for those trips, mapping out FastPasses like a general and packing homemade snacks so no one ever went hungry between churros.

Her absolute favorite was "it's a small world." She could quote every scene: the Eiffel Tower twirling with can-can dancers, the Dutch children in wooden shoes, the hula skirts swaying under paper leis, the tiny London guards marching in perfect step. She knew the exact moment the boat glides past the African savanna, when the giraffes bow their long necks and the hippos yawn in rhythm. She'd lean over the rail, eyes shining, singing the chorus louder than anyone "It's a world of laughter, a world of tears…" because to her, every doll in every costume was a neighbor, every language a lullaby, every smile a promise that kindness crosses oceans. She rode it first thing in the morning and last thing at night, claiming the finale room, where the whole world glows white and gold, was heaven's waiting room.

Her favorite character? Minnie Mouse, spunky, stylish, and always ready with a hug. Althea had the ears, the polka-dot purse, the whole collection. She dreamed of the day she'd take Jeweliana on their first trip together, twirling down Main Street in matching Minnie outfits. Though that magical journey never happened, Althea's stories of the castle, the fireworks, and the joy of it all already lives in Jeweliana's imagination, waiting for the day she steps through the gates and feels Grandma right beside her.

Her proudest legacy lives in the two men she raised with fierce devotion and gentle wisdom. Hollis Da Silva, II, an Army veteran, who now stands on the front lines as a police officer and EMT. Every life he saves, every hand he holds in crisis, carries the steady heartbeat of the lessons his mother whispered over bedtime stories and Sunday dinners. Chad Da Silva walks the same corporate corridors she once conquered, climbing with the quiet fire she lit in him, proving every day that her belief in him was never misplaced. Their strength is her echo, their kindness, her signature.

And then there is Jeweliana Da Silva, age 9, Althea's wide-eyed sidekick, the keeper of her secrets, and the brightest sparkle in her sky. Althea helped raise her, standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the stove, teaching tiny hands how to whisk, season, and taste with love. They stirred batter for midnight cookies under a canopy of giggles, turned the backyard grass into a runway for fairy wings, built blanket forts that could hold the whole world, danced in the kitchen to old Motown records, and hunted fireflies until the jars glowed like captured stars. Jeweliana already knows Grandma's recipe for perfect mac and cheese, the exact wink that meant "I'm proud of you," the gentle hush of bedtime prayers, and the promise that love never runs out, even when the storyteller goes quiet.

Althea is survived by her adoring mother, Jewel Brown; her cherished sons, Hollis Da Silva, II and his wife, Jennifer Da Silva, and Chad Da Silva; and her bright-eyed granddaughter, Jeweliana Da Silva. She was preceded in death by her beloved father, John "Skipp" Purcell.

Cremation Services were held privately and under the direction of Simplicity Funeral and Cremation Services at Glackin Chapel, 136 Morrison Ave., Hightstown, NJ.

Join us in a joyful Celebration of Life on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. at New Horizon Baptist Church, 200 Main St., Groveville, NJ 08620, where we'll trade tears for stories, sing the songs she loved, and toast to a life that made the world softer and brighter.

Flowers may be sent directly to New Horizon Baptist Church.

Althea didn't just live, she sparkled. And that light? It's in all of us now.