Wanda Lee Lopez

Wanda Lee Hoyle Lopez was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. Born January 15, 1938 in Warren, Ark., she was the daughter of Roland and Lillian Hoyle. Wanda met her husband, Alan Richard Lopez of San Diego, Calif. on a blind date while he was serving in the Air Force in Jacksonville, Ark. They married May 3, 1958. She was a proud State employee for 40 years, working in the Secretary of State's Office, Department of Education, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and retired from the Department of Vocational Education in 1998. Wanda was small in stature but in that petite frame lived the most genuine personality you could ever meet. She never met a stranger; she was outgoing and friendly, generous, industrious, and some would say a little "bossy." She stayed active and made a point until the day she died to get out of the house every day. Her hobby was buying "scratch cards" and she was pretty lucky, too. When she won big, she made sure to share the wealth with her family because she believed it brought her more luck. She was diligent to keep a spotlessly-clean home and loved working in her yard tending to her flowers and shrubs. She will be remembered by family, friends, and neighbors for many endearing qualities, but her cooking was appreciated by all who were fortunate to be invited to her dinner table. Her Mexican food was the most requested meal by her family, and we were blessed every year at Christmastime with a Mexican buffet that was beyond compare. She loved Christmas, and each year she would say she wasn't going to do very much, but we knew better. Her family could count on receiving several gifts from her and "Santa." She deeply loved her family and friends, and if you were beloved by her, you should consider yourself blessed. The world will never be the same with her passing and our hearts feel empty without her, but we are comforted that she is happily reunited with her family and friends who preceded her. She leaves behind her devoted husband of 59 years, Alan Lopez, sister Marietta (Mary) Hoyle, daughters Tammy Medlock and Stephanie Lopez, son-in-law David Medlock, her beloved and only grandson, Joshua Rateliff and wife Chantelle, and family friends Josh and Lizzie Ball. A visitation will be held 2–4 p.m., Sunday, April 22 at Smith NLR Funeral Home. Wanda's full and wonderful life will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 23 at the funeral home. She will be laid to rest in the Arkansas State Veteran's Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the Little Rock Animal Village. Online obituary and guest registry at SmithFamilyCares.com.