Eileen Therese Lopez

"The matriarch of my family, Eileen Fitzmaurice Lopez has at last taken her rest. She was the strongest woman I've ever met. Let me tell you about her. When she was expected to become a nun at 18, she instead moved herself to the new state of Hawaii. She fell in love with a musician from the wrong side of the tracks in the 1960's and never gave thought to the opinions of her contemporaries. She married Jack Lopez and he joined the Air Force Band. They raised a family and they traveled the world together. In 1983, when she found out my mother was pregnant with me, she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She was never supposed to survive until my birth and as usual, she wasn't tryin' to listen to that noise. She'd pick me and my brother up from preschool in her MG sports car and years later, we'd walk Waikiki beach together. I called her Tutu; grandmother in Hawaiian. I feel like so much of the things that I value are a product of her example. Radical courage in the face of convention. She lived an extraordinary life and I will miss her very much." Eileen Therese Fitzmaurice Lopez was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 13, 1941. She moved to Alameda, CA at the age of four and graduated from Notre Dame High School. After her marriage to Jack Lopez in 1962, they moved to San Francisco and from there were stationed in Weisbaden, Germany and then Phoenix, AZ. After retirement from the Air Force in 1977, the Lopez family moved back to Northern CA and settled in Stockton. Eileen always continued her education, taking at least one night class every semester at Glendale Community College and then San Joaquin Delta Community College. In 1982 she received her AA degree from Delta College and in 1983, along with her sister, Pat Kenney, received her BA from Cal State Stanislaus. In 1979 she earned her Psychiatric Technician license and worked for the State of California at Stockton Developmental Center for 20 years.

Eileen is preceded in death by her mother and father Thomas and Nellie Fitzmaurice, brother, Thomas Fitzmaurice, and grandson, Ryan Mallory. She is survived by son, Anthony Lopez, daughter, Tonnie Mallory, grandsons, Erik Mallory and John and Christopher Lopez, sisters, Patricia Kenney and Kathleen Kimball, numerous nieces and nephews, and friends. Eileen was a survivor and loved her family and friends with fierce unconditional love. She was feisty, unafraid to speak her mind and thanks to her grandson, Erik, viewed the world through rose colored glasses. She loved God and was faithful all the days of her life. The world was a better place because she was in it.

Rosary will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 16, 2018 at DeYoung Memorial Chapel at 601 N. California St., Stockton, CA. Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 10:00 am at the Cathedral of the Annunciation 425 W. Magnolia St., Stockton, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association thru Jacob's Heart at:

www2.heart.org/goto/sanjoaquin_jacobsheartwalkteam; the Wounded Warrior Project; or the American Cancer Society."