Liz Galan

1968-2014

Born in Guadalajara Mexico in the prestigious Catalina Hospital on October 26, 1968, Elizabeth (Liz) Lopez Galan began her journey through life. Liz was the third of four children to Hilario Lopez and his wife Maria de Los Angeles Lopez. Hilario and Maria, hard working immigrants, raised their four children with much love, commitment and strong family values. It was from here that Liz learned much of her dedication and values to her family and community.

In 1973 Hilario and Maria returned to California in the San Fernando Valley after being in Guadalajara for 5 years to raise their kids in America. That is when Liz entered Kindergarten at Sharp Ave Elementary School in Arleta, California. There she was a member of the drill team under the direction of Mrs. Elmor. This was only the beginning of her education and participation in extracurricular activities in school. She attended Pacoima Jr. and graduated from San Fernando High School in 1986. All through junior high and high school she was a member of the drill team. She had a love and passion for this team and even led the drill team as the Captain her junior and senior year. She will always have the Panther and Tiger Pride in her!

In 1986 Liz became a US Citizen along with her father Hilario. Her mother Maria had previously became a US Citizen in 1983. It was very important to her parents that Liz was a US Citizen like her siblings. As such, they worked very hard to ensure they became citizens before she started college. Liz attended both Pierce and Valley College.

Liz was a people person and a jack of all trades when it came to employment; she was a teacher’s assistant, a retail associate for many years, Property Manager and a Parent Center Director. Her employments always involved assisting people; she was at her best when she was surrounded by people. Liz was a top sales associate in cosmetics and won numerous awards and received accolades for her accomplishments in retail. During her retail days at Pier 1, she found love and met her dedicated husband and best friend, Hector Galan. From that moment on they were inseparable. Together they raised their three beautiful children Jill (21), Jennifer (15) and Hector (J.R.) (13) with much love and devotion. They taught them the importance of family and community.

Liz was a strong community activist working as a Property Manager and a proud member of the Panorama City Council. Being the people person she was, she began organizing Neighborhood Watch programs at every place she was a Property Manager. Her programs were very successful and many people benefited from her dedication to fight crime and bring awareness to her community. Educating people was a passion for Liz. She assisted others in developing their own Neighborhood Watch programs in their area. She worked closely with LAPD and was very involved in their community and fundraising events. She was highly regarded by LAPD as an advocate for her community.

Continuing with educating people Liz made a full circle in her last years of her life when she returned to Sharp Ave Elementary and enjoyed being the Parent Center Director. She became actively involved at Sharp when Jennifer and JR were attending there and took the position as the Parent Center Director. In her eyes, this was not a” job”, this was something she enjoyed to do immensely and it was very rewarding to her. She was extremely proud of the work she did with her “Madrinas”, a parent volunteer program. She made many friends along the way. She always wanted a better life for her children and worked hard and fought to ensure the safety of her family, friends, and others where they lived and went to school.

Her tenacity for life and her immense love for her family inspired Liz to fight her battle with cervical cancer with full force. She was inspirational to all and she fought to the very end. Liz may have lost her battle with cervical cancer on June 25, 2014 but her caring and loving spirit will carry on.

Liz’s devotion to strive to do the best for her family and her radiant smile will never be forgotten. She is survived by her husband Hector, children; Jill, Jennifer and J.R., granddaughter Mia, parents; Hilario and Maria, and siblings; Alex, Diana, and Gaby. Her beautiful attributes and sprit will live on through her family and those she touched along the way in her short journey on earth.