Arturo Lopez

Arturo Lopez (Smokey), 75 of Sunnyside, having accepted Jesus Christ into his heart, went on to be with his savior. He lived a filled and blessed life and on April 13, 2015 with his daughter at his side, he passed on. He was born August 3, 1939 in Puerta LaVaca, Texas to Julia and Juan Lopez. He attended school only until 7th grade due to the fact that his parents were migrant fieldworkers and moved often. Arturo often spoke about how much he admired his mother raising him and his siblings. At the age of 19, he met and married Sally Campos. They were married for 58 yeas and together they had four children. They traveled to many places as they followed the field crops and worked in the hop ranches. He learned many skills and became a self-taught mechanic and painted vehicles for a living. While he passed on many of his skills to his children, he also knew the importance of a good education and encouraged them to finish school. He had a passion for helping people everywhere he went; no one was a stranger to him. Despite not having a high education, he studied maps and signs and knew how to get anywhere. His favorite past time was spending time with his family, having BBQ’s and playing the accordion. He was a member of the Iglesia El Calvario in Sunnyside and always made it a point to share his faith. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years Sally Lopez of Sunnyside, three sons; Tony (Senaida) Lopez, Art Jr. (Hilda) Lopez of Grandview, Eddy Lopez and one daughter Silvia (Sam) Cantu of Sunnyside, 7 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren, his siblings; 5 brothers, Jesse of Longview, Jimmy and Richard of Arizona, Mike of Grandview, Manuel of Tri-Cities, and 4 sisters; Rosa of Arizona, Adela of Mt. Vernon, Frances of Yakima, and Diana of Sunnyside. He is preceded in death by his mother (Julia) and father (Juan), granddaughter Christy, his brother Danny, a sister-in-law Eva and his brother, John who passed on only a month ago. His children would like to acknowledge and thank family and friends who showed their kindness and support during our father’s illness. A special thanks to Memorial Hospital and Staff who treated him during his final days. We would also like to extend our thanks to Cottage in the Meadow Hospice Care for the incredible care they took of us and our father, during his final hours. Our fathers passing leaves a big void in our hearts, but his love and memories will always live on. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become “Children of God”, John 1:12. Viewing and visitation will be held 4:00 to 8:00 pm Friday, April 17, 2015 with a vigil service at 6:00 pm at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside. Funeral Services will be held 10:00 am Saturday, April 18, 2105 with a reception to follow at Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside. Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside is in care of all arrangements. Condolences can be sent to www.valleyhillsfh.com To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Arturo Lopez, please visit our flower store.