Richard Julian “Crash” Lopez
Richard was born on February 19, 1938, in Santa Barbara, California to Luis and Rosella Lopez. He passed away at his cabin on Paradise Road on March 23, 2013, after a short battle with cancer. He attended local schools and then did a stint in the Navy, where he proudly served his country. After the Navy he returned to Santa Barbara and in 1964 started his career as an electrician with the IBEW Local 413, and continued until 2009!
Our Dad was a loving & supportive Father, Grandfather, Brother, Uncle & Friend. He will be greatly missed by many! He was always the life of the party and was known to many as the man wearing his huge sombrero every Fiesta! He loved to do anything that involved his family; camping, fishing, BBQ’s and hosting gatherings at his cabin to name a few. His annual Easter celebration will be sorely missed this year. Among the many things he loved was volunteering his time for over 45 years to help organize and put the lights on the Christmas tree at the corner of Chapala/Carrillo. After retirement one of his favorite weekly events was his Tuesday poker game with his fellow retirees, which often included lunch at Joe’s Café. Another favorite was traveling to collect his beloved Indian artifacts, of which many are proudly displayed in his cabin. One of his favorite shirts said, “My Indian name is Runs with Beer”, which was quite fitting.
He was married for 25 years to Dondra and raised a great family of five children, all of whom survive him; Crashena Lopez, Monica Lopez, Rico (Tahra) Lopez, Melina (Jason) Stone and Dara (David) Mitchum. He is also survived by his siblings; Luis “Sonny” Lopez, Sylvia Cooper, Steve (Dianne) Lopez, Louise Lopez and Elaine Nellis; his grandchildren Uriah (Eveline) Stowe, Javier (Candice Ruiz) Lopez, Acacia Stowe, Tre and Alexandria Alvarado, David & Melissa Mitchum; and his great grandchildren Gabriel Lopez and Vincent & Isabella Rosales. Last but not least, he is survived by his numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and so many wonderful friends.
Special thanks to Santa Barbara Hospice nursing staff for providing compassionate care for our Dad.
Richard/Dad was a man with a big heart, a good listener, a wise counselor who always enjoyed a good debate, a great host, and a loving mentor to his family and friends. We will miss you so much, Dad! We send you on your way with a loving “Be Cool.” Until we unite again.
A Celebration of Life BBQ will be held on April 6th at 1 pm at Manning Park, area 9. If you have any questions, please email molopez28@comcast.net. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to The Unity Shoppe, an organization that dad loved. www.unityshoppe.org or 805-965-4122.