Maria L. Lopez

Mrs. Maria L. Lopez, 81, died Monday, January 17, 2022, in the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway, New Jersey.

Family and friends are invited to the visitation in the Kowalski Funeral Home, 515 Roselle Street, Linden on Friday, January 21^st. from 4:00-8:00PM.  We respectfully ask that no one come to the funeral home earlier than 4:00PM, so as not to infringe on the family’s private time.  On Saturday, January 22^nd. at 9:45AM, family and friends will meet directly at the Divine Mercy Parish of Rahway, where a funeral mass will be offered at 10:00AM.  The prayers of committal will precede Mrs. Lopez’s burial in the family plot in St. Gertrude Cemetery in Colonia, New Jersey.

Mrs. Lopez, the daughter of the late Maria Claudina and the late Belisario Lopez Ocampo, was born in the town of Risaralda, Caldas in Colombia.  She came to the United States in 2009 and immediately settled in Piscataway.  In later years, she also spent time in her daughter’s home in Linden.

In her younger years in Colombia, Mrs. Lopez, a very talented seamstress, owned and operated her own business selling clothing and accessories.  She was known as a very hard worker, which definitely led to her successful business ventures.  Mrs. Lopez liked to celebrate from time to time, by having an occasional drink of whiskey.  Her faith was a large part of Mrs. Lopez’s life.  She was a  devout Catholic who was always deep in prayer, especially to the Virgin Mary.  Mrs. Lopez was  ahead of her time in that she was a woman of strong character, very wise and yet, at the same time, very giving.

Predeceased by her husband, Ramon Elias Florez Marin on December 31, 2011, and her daughter, Gloria Esperanza Florez Lopez, Mrs. Lopez is survived by her four children, Maria Elizabeth Florez Lopez and her husband, Juan Carlos Ceron, Carlos Humberto Florez Lopez and his wife, Fanny Florez, Fanny Florez Lopez and her husband, Federico G. Gonzalez, Lina Maria Florez Lopez and her husband, Fernando Fernandez; her eleven grandchildren, Yaqueline Andrea Estrada and her fiancée, Jaime Grisales, Yuli Carolina Estrada and her husband, Louis “Pocho” Duque, Darlyn Bibiana Florez, Jeyson Humberto Florez and his wife, Parissa Ebrahimzadeh Florez, Jefferson Florez, Carlos Humberto Florez, Kevin Jorge Ramirez and his wife, Giselle, Daniel Alexander Ramirez and his wife, Alysa, Sabrina Genesis Benitez, Celeste Carolina Benitez, Diego Alejandro Renza and her thirteen great grandchildren.

 Mrs. Lopez was the center of life for her family, and she had an abundance of love for everyone in her circle.  She was adored beyond words!  Mrs. Lopez will be deeply missed, but never forgotten and the traditions and values she instilled in her family will remain forever.

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