Luis Lopez

Luis is survived by his loving wife, Melissa Lopez, his son Luis Lopez Jr, his daughter in law, Mary Lopez, his grandchildren, Izzac and Izzabella Lopez, his mother, Trinidad Lopez, his sister, Leti Lopez, his nieces and his nephews in law, Naomi and Jason Flores, and Samantha and Kevin Zamora. He was preceded in death by his beloved father, Estevan Lopez.

Luis was born on October 9, 1960 in French Camp California to Estevan and Trini Lopez. Luis graduated from Lodi High in 1977. Luis’s love of country and strong sense of duty propelled him to join the Army where he served for six years as a heavy equipment operator. He was honorably discharged in 1983 as a Sergeant E-5. Luis was blessed with his son, Luis Lopez Jr in 1982. He returned home to Stockton where he took a job as a crane operator for Husky Crane which later became Maxim Crane where he would work for the remainder of his career. Luis met Melissa in 1989 in Stockton while he was working downtown as a tower Crane operator building the new welfare building. They joyously married in 2000 and would spend 31 loving and blessed years together. Melissa remembers him as being her best friend, her everything, a funny, loving, and caring husband.

Luis’s lifelong passion of karate stemmed from his time spent in Korea while enlisted in the army. Luis was skilled and devoted to his craft. He was trained under George Dillman of Dillman Karate and became an 8th degree black belt Grand Master in Kyushu Jitsu Do Kenpo Karate. He opened his own dojo where he would teach young women self defense and young men going into the service to use their hands and not weapons. He was passionate and fastidious about his students, and only taught his craft to people with faith and honor. Luis’s unshakable faith and love of God led him to be a dedicated and faithful member of his church, the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Luis and Melissa would devote their time to marriage course ministry, where they would mentor young couples. Luis and Melissa loved their hometown and would give back through participation in Love Stockton projects. He was also an active 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus through which he would support various charities and perform ministry work.

A Rosary is scheduled for March 11th, 2021 at 6:00pm for the public with social distancing guidelines in practice at DeYoung Memorial Chapel, 601 N. California st. A funeral with military honors is scheduled for March 12th, 2021; 10:00am at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 6715 Leesburg Place. Father Mark will officiate the ceremony. The church is offering 25% capacity for those who wish to come and honor Luis’s lifetime of service and love. The family would like to thank all those who prayed for and sent their well wishes for Luis with his battle and would ask for your continued prayers for Luis on his journey home to our Heavenly Father.