Carmen Aitken, 88, passed away on January 6, 2021 at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, OR, due to heart failure. Born to Mary Toro Lopez and Ignacio Gerardo Lopez on January 2, 1933, Carmen grew up in Flushing (Queens), NY along with her sister, Gloria and brother, Edward (Eddie). Carmen graduated from Flushing High School.
At age 19, Carmen moved to San Francisco, California with a dear friend and worked as a secretary while attending night school to complete her Bachelor’s degree.
Carmen loved to ski and frequently traveled with her friends to Squaw Valley Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, California. While skiing one day, Carmen literally plowed into John Aitken—the soon-to-be love of her life. She reconnected with John again a few years later in the pub of this same resort, when he asked her to dance. From that dance forward, they were inseparable.
In 1964, Carmen Lopez and John Aitken were married and enjoyed an extended honeymoon in Europe which included their first Christmas together in the Canary Islands, a visit to Paris, and working at a ski resort in Lech, Austria for four months. Upon their return, they settled in San Francisco where they lived and worked for over 30 years.
Carmen worked for many years as a secretary for Hughes’ Air West and then as a personal secretary to a prominent San Francisco family.
John and Carmen shared a love of skiing and dancing and were avid travelers, visiting many parts of Europe. They went on a photo safari in Kenya, took a Baltic cruise, visiting St. Petersburg, and toured Egypt. One of their favorite destinations was Bellagio on Lake Como in Italy. They also spent many weekends and holidays at their home in Lake Tahoe.
In 2003 they moved from San Francisco to the Rogue Valley Manor retirement community in Medford, OR. John and Carmen continued to travel and enjoyed ballroom dancing and attending concerts and theater performances in nearby Ashland. Their most rewarding volunteer activity was serving as "cuddlers" for almost 12 years in the Neonatal lntensive Care Unit at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center.
Carmen was widowed in 2016 after 52 years of marriage. She made several trips in the following years to visit with her family in Taos, NM and in Buffalo and Kingston, NY. Carmen enjoyed a family reunion in Cancún, Mexico with her niece, nephews and two grand nieces in 2018.
Carmen is survived by her nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Her family was planning to visit her later this year, “post-vaccine,” but will instead hold informal celebrations of her life in the near future.
Memorials in Medford for Carmen Aitken will be held on a future date, to be announced, due to current COVID restrictions. The family requests that memorial contributions in her honor be given to the Rogue Valley Manor Assistance Fund or to the RV Manor’s Employee Scholarship Fund.
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