Barbara Joan Lopez

LOPEZ, Barbara 01/22/33 - 05/14/12 Barbara passed away peacefully on May 14,2012 with family by her side due to complications associated with Alzheimer's. Barbara Joan Romero was the third of eight children born to Joseph and Frances Romero of Santa Barbara. Barbara attended local schools in Santa Barbara before pursuing work at Cottage Hospital in 1950. She stayed on at Cottage Hospital until she transferred to the new Goleta Valley Community Hospital in 1966. She worked in the emergency room at GVCH until her retirement in 1996. Barbara's knight in shining armor and the love of her life came along in July 1964 when she met Richard Lopez. Richard more commonly known as "Red" embraced his ready made family with Barbara and her three daughters. Richard and Barbara's love endured for forty eight years.. Barbara is survived by her loving and devoted husband Richard, their three daughters, Cynthia Menegon (Cookie), Lisa de St. Jean (Ken), Janice Placencia (David Davis), nine grandchildren (Robert, Rhea, Cassandra, Christopher, Steven, Jenna, Joseph, Hillary, Rebecca) and one great-grandson, Jaxon. In addition to those above, Barbara is survived by two siblings, her older sister and best friend, Lola Romero and her younger brother Ron Romero, who she always looked up to. She will be missed by her extended family and friends, whom she loved dearly. Barbara enjoyed spending time with family, loved crafting, listening to good music (Elvis Presley, Country and Mariachi), sharing a good laugh, coin collecting, a winning slot machine and Las Vegas! A sincere thank you to the wonderful caregivers, at Mission Terrace and Cliff View Terrace, for their devotion to Barbara and support to our family. A special appreciation and thank you goes to Mary Hawkins, sister and aunt for all her support and encouragement over these last few years. The girls would like to thank our dad for the over the top dedication, and love to mom. She really hit the jackpot when she met you. We love you. We would also like to thank our mates who always supported us by being flexible, filling in the gaps and picking up the pieces when we spent time with mom and couldn't always be home. We love you.

Barbara Joan Lopez

January 22, 1933 - May 14, 2012