Maria Lopez March 27, 1930 – January 3, 2024 Cuba, Miami, Denver, Miami, Houston, Miami A long life well lived. With love and many wonderful memories, we release our mother and Tony’s Blanquita into God’s good and caring hands. We held on as long as we could. On January 3rd, Maria (Blanquita) Lopez passed away quietly surrounded by her family and her husband, Tony Lopez. She was kind, caring, and patient to all, and yet, strong and passionate when situation called for it. She was an influential member of our family, who in many ways lead by example. Most importantly, family mattered very much to her. Maria Lopez (Blanquita) was born Maria Blanca Gonzalez Cuenca in Sagua la Grande, Cuba on March 27, 1930, and passed way due to heart and lung disease. She was 93 years old. Maria was the first of five children of Rafael and Blanca Gonzalez. Her brothers Rafael and John predeceased her and sisters, Sr. Berta Gonzalez of Cuba and Elsa Sosa of Miami, FL USA endure her passing. She leaves behind a dedicated husband (Tony), children from two marriages (Joe, Maggie, Tony Jr, Lili, Mary, Heidi, Frank) and two children predeceased (Tiffany and Lourdes). She has 19 grandchildren (David, Alexis, Carolyn, Marc, Christine, Cathrine, Joey, Alex, Alyssa, Julianna, Savannah, Brianna, Austin, Amanda, Tony JrJr, Becca, Rachel, Meghan, Frank) and 11 great grandchildren (Kendall, Peter, Matilda, Elenita, Tony VI, Leo, Cooper, Landon, Avery, Dean, Logan Quinn) Maria was bright, a life-long learner, excelled at math and with the most beautiful penmanship, did well with English classes in Cuba. She was influenced by her parents in several ways. Her father Rafael was a machinist/avid tinker and Blanca a homemaker/patriot who served the front lines when Cuba fought for its independence from Spain. History showed that she absorbed a lot from her father and did not shy away from figuring out how things worked and even how to fix them. She taught herself the iPad at 80. She loved to cook and everyone loved her cooking. She did not cook much in Cuba, there was help, but in Denver she became a great cook of both Cuban and American food and developed a love of recipe-clipping, many of which are still in her home today. She was a health nut before it became popular, many times sharing her knowledge of vitamins and healthy habits with the family. She once verbalized her generation would be the last long-living because they were the last that grew up eating organically. She had a gift for remembering each and everyone’s birthday for the entire family. Maria’s athleticism over the years included playing with grandkids, riding bikes, ice skating, practicing yoga (she could stand on her head), and swimming. She hated Castro and what communism has done to her beautiful Cuba. She never forgot the family she left behind in Cuba and the oppression of her siblings and mother. Together, with her conviction and Tony’s connections, they were able to free them from Cuba’s communist regime and bring them into the U.S. Cuba to Miami: She spoke infrequently about her life in Cuba, but when she did, she talked about her wonderful childhood memories, playing tricks on the nuns in college, Cuba’s incredible beauty, and the sadness of knowing she probably would never see “La Patria” again. Although she came from humble beginnings, she went to business college for accounting in Cuba (Not many women who were born in the 1930 can say they had a college degree.) where she met her first husband, the late, Jose Marino. The had 5 children together (Joe, Tiffany, Lourdes, Lili, Heidi). As her dreams began to fade in Cuba it was her strength that protected her kids during the Bay of Pigs invasion, that stood up to Castro’s militants with guns knocking at the door telling us to leave, and that got our family out of Cuba and onto American soil. She arrived with her family in Miami, Florida in 1961. Miami to Denver: After a year of struggling in Miami with many other Cuban refugees, they left to Denver. Our family was sponsored by the Catholic community, helping us get to Denver in 1963. Maria worked as a housekeeper and as an assembly line person. She worked on a factory line at Samsonite making suitcases and had to take 3 buses to get there since she did not have a car. Her last job in Denver was assembling fluorescent light fixtures at Keene. It was in Denver where she met and married (1970) her adoring husband Tony (Antonio) Lopez, adding his 4 kids (Maggie, Tony Jr., Mary, and Frank) to her 5. The family enjoyed Sunday family dinners, going to local parks on the weekends, mountain cabin trips, and taking family summer vacation in the southwest part of the US. She enjoyed living in beautiful Colorado, but life in Denver was a struggle because the opportunities for financial improvement were very limited for immigrants at that time. So, after a family vacation to see other family members in Miami they decided to give Miami another try. Denver to Miami: The family moved to south Florida in 1974 to give our family a better life. This paved the way for Maria to return to her business college roots and she worked as a bookkeeper at a real estate/construction company. This large family meant always having something to do, someone to worry about, celebrations to attend and even some wonderful world travels. She visited and vacationed with the Armario branch of the family including travel to England, Chile, Spain and Hawaii to name a few. She traveled with Tony on many business trips to see other Latin countries in Central and South America. Until late in life she attended almost all the momentous events like weddings, graduations etc. She came back to visit Denver very frequently and spent time with Tony Jr., Megan, Rebecca, Rachel, Frank, Marc, and Carolyn. Maria made a few special trips with Lili and Heidi including an 80th birthday celebration to Punta Cana and Alaska on a cruise. Miami to Houston: After 20 plus years of happily living the Latin life in Miami, they had new reason for an adventure in Houston, Texas. She came to help her youngest daughter take care of her grandchildren. They moved to Houston in 2001 and temporarily joined the Harrelson branch of the family. Many years before she came to Houston to check out where her youngest had decide to live. She spent a week in 1989 with Heidi helping her with her new home and standing up a Texas size Christmas tree that was too big for the house. After the tree was successfully standing... “Mom if you ever want to move here, you can have this house and live here”. The offer was made not thinking she would ever leave Miami. With so many children and so many possible opportunities the Harrelson household felt honored and blessed – like they won the family lottery. Together they celebrated every birthday, holiday, and special occasions much like they did when they lived in Miami. Maria lived in Deer Park, Texas from 2001 to her death, 24 years. During this time, she developed a close bond to the Harrelson grandkids, Savannah, Brianna, Austin, and Amanda and also spent more time with her daughter, Tiffany, and her branch of the family (David - grandson, and great granddaughter - Kendall) because they lived in the Houston area as well. She traveled with the Harrelsons, visited her sister Elsa in Louisiana, and had visits from Berta, daughters Maggie and Lili and the rest of the family. Houston to Miami: She lived independently, with Tony’s help, until age 92 when Araceli came to help them both with daily living. She had an amazing husband. They remained a strong couple throughout their lives together. During the last year, when her daughter would help wheel her to her bed, her husband (Tony) would tell her he loved her and he would see her in the morning, knowing that these last days were special. Together almost 54 years, she had a long, happy life with Tony and a strong connection with the 9 kids. Maria had adventures, travel and fun interacting with all her kids, her 19 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Maria (Blanquita) Lopez is a wonderful example of a long life well lived, of being a strong, kind, gracious, humble woman, adored by her husband and loved my many. At the hospital, very close to the end she asked would she would be laid to rest and when her daughter confirmed “Miami of course”. She smiled. Her daughter always new her trip to Houston would be temporary. Any true Cuban/Patriot has to be laid to rest as close as possible to their homeland. Mami/Blanquita/Abuela/Tia/Maria - Rest in peace. You will not be forgotten and will forever be in our hearts!