Gloria Tungol Lopez

Gloria “GLO” Tungol Lopez was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend. After living a full life of over 9 decades, she was called by our maker and is now living a life everlasting.

Gloria was born on March 4, 1931, in the Philippines. The eldest of 5 children, Gloria was no stranger to life’s hardships and tragedies. Dealing with the death of her father at an early age, surviving the Japanese occupation of the Philippine Islands during WWII, and bearing the physical scars from the war, Gloria had to find a way to persevere. Later in life, she would have to raise 4 children on her own and overcome life threatening breast cancer and surgery. In the last few years of her life, she fought hard to overcome the effects of the global pandemic and other serious health issues. Through hard work, prayer and faith in God, Gloria took on the challenges of life and showed us by example how to overcome. She embodied resiliency and was the one person in our lives that showed us how to be strong and live our lives.

Throughout her life, Gloria enjoyed and understood the value of a good education. She loved math and science as a child. She went on to obtain her bachelor's degree in pharmacy from the University of Santo Tomas. After college, she met Domingo V. Lopez and married him in 1958. Now the wife of a military man, Gloria took on a new role of housewife and mother to four children, two born abroad in Japan, the other two born in California.

The military life the young couple led was challenging to say the least. From multiple tours in Vietnam our father had to serve, to relocating within California several times, the young couple did their best to raise their children the best they could. Then in 1976, tragedy struck when Domingo died because of cancer. Now facing life as a single parent, Gloria returned to the workforce. She would go on to be recognized for exemplary work numerous times in her career and retired at the age of 78!

Throughout her life, Gloria remained steadfast about the importance and value of having a strong educational background. With her guidance and encouragement, all four of her children went on to graduate with college degrees. After graduating from their respective universities, these 4 children then blessed Gloria with an additional 8 grandchildren and 1 great granddaughter.

When Gloria retired, she was finally able to bear the fruits of her labor. She became an avid traveler and did so with other siblings, friends and with family. She traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia. She even visited Italy where she camped out overnight in the streets of the Vatican just to get a glimpse of the Pope himself. Apparently, one sighting wasn’t enough for Gloria, she went on to New York on another occasion to get an additional papal view.

When it came to passions and hobbies, first and foremost, she was a woman of faith. As a devout Catholic, she was an active member in the church community. Her entire life was centered around family and faith. In addition to being a devout Catholic, the other religion she practiced with fervor was that of Gardening! She loved her roses, orchids, fruit trees, and that darn mountain in our backyard. Despite our objections, she would often climb that steep hill to pull weeds and water her precious plants. It’s truly a miracle that she never experienced an accident on that hill. I guess God protected her even when she was on that hill.

Did you know that Gloria loved BINGO? Anytime she could play, she did so with family and with strangers. One thing you probably didn’t know about Gloria…she hated chicken. That’s right! She never ate it and would avoid cooking it at all costs. In fact, her hatred of chicken stemmed from the fact that she had a phobia of birds. Who knew! Gloria lived life to the fullest despite all the challenges God put in front of her. She was resilient and persevered. She was a woman of faith that led by example and showed us all that through prayer and hard work, life was worth living. Gloria is survived by her sons Gaylord, Dominic, and Francis, and by her daughter Marie. She is also survived by and her Grandsons, Zach, Brandon, Joseph, Niko, and Alexander, and by her granddaughters Victoria, Alyssa, Gabriella, and her Great-Granddaughter Mila. She is also survived by her siblings Junior, Fely, Mely, and Corazon.