Joseph Lopez

Born in Sada d’Arriba, La Coruña, Spain, raised in New York City, Joe passed away in Alexandria, Virginia on Friday, March 29th with his loving wife, Jane K. Lopez, at his side. He was father to a son Kenneth J. Lopez, 44, of Alexandria, and Laura Jane Smith, of St. Petersburg, Florida, from a previous marriage. Joe Lopez was proud of his six grandchildren, five-year old triplets: Alexa, Livia and Tessa, who will miss high-fiving with their "Grampy,” and Matthew, 27, and Nicole, 28, and Stephen, 33 who reside in Florida. He had three great-grandchildren, Aiden, 8, Avery, 6 and Claire, 1.

Joe immigrated to the United States with his parents from Spain when he was two years old, just after he learned the language, he liked to say. He grew up in the rough and tumble Lower East Side of Manhattan during the Great Depression with parents Carmen, a seamstress and Juan who worked tugboats in New York Harbor. He attended Aviation High School and had a brother John and a sister Carmen, both of whom have passed.

He served in the military with distinction after being drafted twice at the end of World War II, first into the U.S. Navy and then into the U.S. Army. At that point he decided he might as well stay In the Army. He gave 27 years of military service before retiring in 1971. During his military years, he served in the Korean War, was on the embassy staff in Bolivia and served a tour in Vietnam just after after the birth of his son. He earned the Army Commendation Medal.

After his retirement from the Army, Joe continued to live in Alexandria, VA for a total of 43 years. He earned a degree from the University of Maryland and ran several import/export operations between the U.S. and Spain. He ended his professional career by working for the U.S. Army Material Command in Alexandria, VA for 12 years. He loved restoring and maintaining cars, a skill that he passed on to his son, Ken.

A gathering will be held at Demaine Funeral Home in Alexandria, VA on Friday, April 5th from 5-7pm. Funeral services with Full Military Honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday, June 18th at 3:00pm.