Mar 22, 2018

Joseph W. Lopez, 74, of Belle Vernon, passed away Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

He was born November 9, 1943, a son of the late Frank and Grace Weir Lopez.

Deceased, in addition to his parents, are a baby brother, Joey, who died in 1942, and an older brother, Tony, who died in 2004.

In 1970, he married Marjorie Demko, and they were blessed with three children, Joe (Kat) of Charleroi, Laura (Sean) of Belle Vernon and Frank (Kristy) of Belle Vernon. They had four grandchildren, Gianna and Antonio Lorenzo and Grace and Vincenzo Lopez. Also surviving are three sisters-in-law, Maryann Demko of Florida, Joni (Gordon) Pavtis of Arizona and Sharon Brunetti of Detroit, Mich.

Mr. Lopez was a 1961 graduate of Bellmar High School, where he excelled in football, basketball and baseball. He was inducted into the Belle Vernon Area Football Hall of Fame in 2003. After graduation, Mr. Lopez attended California University and West Virginia University, from where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education.

He coached Little League and Bronco League in the Belle Vernon area, winning many championships. He took his 1976 Bronco All Star team to the Bronco World Series in New Bedford, Mass., losing to the best team in the World Series finals.

Mr. Lopez served as a member of Belle Vernon Area school board and on the recreation boards of community.

He was a PIAA official in football, basketball, baseball and softball. For 35 years, he worked many WPIAL tournament games and altogether officiated nearly 5,000 games in his career.

Mr. Lopez was a Democratic Committee member in North Belle Vernon and Belle Vernon for many years. He belonged to the EBVAA and Naomi A.C. lifetime organizations. Mr. Lopez was also a part-time volunteer for Meals on Wheels.

He was a lifelong member of St. Sebastian Church, Belle Vernon, where he belonged to Catholic Youth Organization and Holy Name Society. He served as an usher at St. Sebastian’s for 54 years. He was elected to the very first parish council in St. Sebastian’s, where he served in the finance committee.

Mr. Lopez taught in Ringgold School District for 35 years and taught at Caster School, Donora and Finley Junior High Schools and Carroll Junior High School. His discipline was reading and literature. He was also very active as a coach in Ringgold. He coached football, basketball and track in both the junior high and high schools. He coached boys and girls in basketball and track, where he was the first girls coach at Ringgold High School in the 1970s. His boys basketball teams were renowned, as they won 18 section championships in 32 years. He was often given credit for molding Ringgold’s powerful, section-winning teams of the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. He finished his athletic career retiring with 414 wins. Many of his former players went on to play ball in college, some reaching great heights in life. His former athletes, both boys and girls, always hugged “coach” when they would run into him in later years.

In retirement, Mr. Lopez enjoyed reading, gardening and traveling. He loved to grow beautiful vegetables in his garden, which he gave most of to his close friends and family. Mr. Lopez also loved Pittsburgh sports teams. He loved to sit on his “veranda” at night and watch his favorite team play. He and his beloved wife of 47 years, Marjorie, traveled extensively and their favorite destination was Aruba, where they traveled many times.

Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday in his son’s funeral home, Carl J. Spallino Funeral Home, 819 Fallowfield Avenue, Charleroi, Joseph A. Lopez, funeral director. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, March 26, in St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church, Belle Vernon. Interment will follow in Belle Vernon Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Mr. Lopez requested donations be given to Meals on Wheels programs.

Condolences may be expressed at www.spallinofuneralhome.com.