Renee Wallace is the mother of four grown children—a television producer, a photographer, a philosopher, and a man who has such severe mental retardation that he will never have a career. Were it not for his mother’s pioneering efforts, this son, Rick, and hundreds of other people like him, would not even have a decent quality of life.

When Rick was born in 1957, the family’s only recourse was to place him in a large, state-run institution. There and at a residential school Rick later attended, Wallace was deeply concerned that the care he and the other residents received was far from what she was sure it could be. There had to be a way for them to live in a caring, home-like environment, with individualized attention.

Wallace found the way. Rick and over 300 other men, women and children, many of them rejected by other care facilities, are now truly served by her non-profit, Vita-Living. They live in private homes where they are respectfully cared for by professionally trained staff who use systems, tools and menus devised by Rick’s determined and resourceful mom.

Ingenuity, common sense and unflagging energy have characterized Wallace’s years of leading Vita-Living. A resident is throwing furniture? Build tables and chairs weighted so heavily they can’t be moved. Residents need to take meds and they can’t read? Make color-coded pill packs with their photos on them. Nutrition is key to helping residents be at their best? Use your professional skills as a dietician to devise the right balance of good foods. The authorities are sending more and more people for care but not providing funding? Pound on desks, literally and figuratively, to get more dollars moving. The neighbors object to a Vita-Living household, throwing things at it, honking their horns, driving cars onto the lawn? Fight back with open houses and community outreach.

Wallace had done it all and at 77 she ended two decades as Executive Director of Vita-Living’s daily operations. Did she retire? Of course not. She now directs the Vita-Living Foundation, which was established to ensure the work’s financial stability. “We can assure parents that their loved ones will have a life-long home with us,” says Renee Wallace. “Giving up is not an option.”

Update: When she turned 90, Renee Wallace was celebrated by the VitaLiving organiztion.