Francisco Becerra Lopez

Francisco Becerra Lopez fell asleep in his earthly body and woke up in the arms of Jesus. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 8th, 2024, joining his wife in paradise. Francisco was 80 years strong and suffered from dementia. That dementia may have caused him to forget certain words or even what day of the week it was, but it never robbed him of remembering his love of family nor did it take away his perfect sense of humor. Visitation will be Thursday, January 11th from 6-8 p.m. at Connally Compton with the rosary at 7:20 p.m. Funeral Mass will be Friday, January 12th at 10 at St. Francis on the Brazos Church. Burial will be at Santa Cruz Cemetery in Riesel. Lunch will follow at Francisco’s favorite restaurant, El Charro Café on LaSalle.

Francisco was born on October 15, 1943, in Hargill, TX to Ascension and Guadalupe Lopez. He was the oldest of five brothers and was called Chuy by those who loved him. Until he was unable to drive, Francisco traveled back to the valley as much as possible to visit his family. There wasn’t a day that went by when he didn’t talk about his mom “La Jefa” or one of his brothers, Beto, Gringo, Hoppy, and Chon. He cherished his visits with his Uncle Luis and Aunt Amparo who still came to visit him and made sure his belly was full!

Francisco was married to Dolores “Lola” Lopez for almost 50 years. Together they loved, fought, cried, and laughed. When they reunited in heaven, I’m sure her first words were “well it took you long enough.” Their love was intense at times but at the end of the day they were each other’s rock. Together they had one child, Sonia Lopez.

Francisco had a natural talent for caretaking, and no one felt that more than Sonia. She felt a love and safety from him that all daughters should have the privilege of feeling. His love was expressed in little ways from rides to every event she “had” to attend to his delicious egg sandwiches in the middle of the night. There were times he would sit in the high school parking lot for hours waiting for the bus to get back from an away game without a single complaint. This was how he showed his love and how Sonia always knew she could depend on her dad.

As much as Sonia was loved by both her parents, she took a backseat when their beloved grandson arrived. Landon was loved hard and unconditionally by his grandpa. He affectionately called Landon “Pooh” from his birth to when dementia started to take over. He then gave Landon the nickname “Hoppy” which is also his brother’s nickname. Landon and his grandpa spent so much precious time together. Francisco even added a backseat to his riding lawn mower so Landon could ride along while he mowed the grass. When he picked him up from school, Francisco would have a whole pizza waiting for him in the truck just in case Landon was a little hungry. This was the kind of love Landon received from his grandpa.

Francisco owned Lopez Body Shop in Elk for many years. He had many devoted customers who would only use him and referred their friends to him because of his amazing talent as a body man. His claim to fame is that he painted David Koresh’s famous Camaro as well as working on other cars belonging to the compound. He was teased for being a superstar after being interviewed for a news story by KSAT. He entered the truck driving industry later in life but was always a body man at heart.

Francisco was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dolores “Lola” Lopez; his parents Ascension and Guadalupe; sisters-in-law Guadalupe, Antonia, Janie, Faye, and Virginia; brothers-in-law Clemente, Manuel, and Frank; nephews Gabriel and Victor; and nieces Rosemary and Lydia.

Left to cherish his memory are his daughter and son-in-law Sonia Lopez Phillips and Kacy Phillips, and his grandson and best buddy, Landon. He is also survived by brothers Salvador (Rosie) Lopez, Alberto (Lupita) Lopez, Jose (Mary) Lopez, and Ascencion (Connie) Lopez; aunt and uncle Luis and Amparo Becerra; brother-in-law Jose Soto; nieces Norma, Esther, Sandy, Mary Jo, Maggie, Roseanna, Christine, Cynthia, and Karmen; nephews Jose, Charlie, Tony, Richard, Alfred, Victor, Louis and many other nieces, nephews, and cousins. He will also be greatly missed by his “adopted” daughter and grandson, Adriana and Jake.

There are so many people the family would like to thank. Thank you to Fern Lee who would sit with him for hours at dialysis and became a very good friend. Thank you to El Charro Café who always treated him as a VIP customer and would serve him food combos that weren’t even on the menu. Thank you to Ridgecrest Retirement Home where he spent his last few years. One of us would visit him almost every day but when we couldn’t, we knew he was in the best hands. He was called “Papi” by many of the staff members and they treated him like family. The peace that gives a family is immeasurable.

Dad, you will be missed by so many. We love you.