Dawn Marie Lopez, 57 years young, passed away on July 22, 2014 after a brief illness.She left behind her loving family including parents Marie and Robert Fenske, husband Stephen, daughter Lisa Marie Orozco, and wonderful grandchildren Stephen Richard Lopez, Lily Dawn, Anthony Jay, and Layla Nichole Orozco.She is also survived by siblings Valerie Fenske, Amy Lewis, Eric, Kurt, and Brian, sisters-in-law, Marcella Smith Bresnahan, Juanita Cobasky, Susan Gonzales, Debra Sepulveda, Annamarie Sepulveda, and Normandy Esparza, brothers-in-law Ruben, Mark, and Edward Lopez as well as many extended family members.
Dawn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on January 7, 1957, and grew up in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois. After graduating from West High in Iowa, she relocated with her family to Tempe where she attended ASU.She later moved to Flagstaff to attend NAU and there she met Stephen.They were married in the Chapel of the Holy Dove, Kendrick Park on February 29, 1980.
After the birth of their daughter, Dawn began her career as a manufacturing associate with W. L. Gore & Associates where she spent the next 22 years, eventually working her way up to leadership for Foreign Regulatory in Europe, Canada, and Japan. She was instrumental in obtaining device approval for a number of life saving medical products.During her time there she could be found racing from meeting to meeting and was known as a go-to-person for crisis management.She enjoyed the opportunity she had to travel to a number of countries, especially her favorite, France.
Dawn was active in the community where she headed up a Brownie troop and was active in the Catholic Church.She volunteered many hours at St. Mary's School, Bingo, and other fundraising activities.In 2002, she became disabled and retired early to focus on rehabilitation needs and enjoying time with her grandchildren. Dawn touched many lives here in the community and developed lasting friendships with citizens from a number of countries.She will be remembered and dearly missed by all who knew her including all the healthcare professionals involved in her rehabilitation, especially Cindy and Rose.
Dawn was preceded in death by her maternal and paternal grandparents, as well as son-in-law Tony, parents-in-law Lillian and Jesus, brother-in-law Fernando, and nephew Alejandro Smith.
Funeral Mass will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, 224 S. Kendrick St. with burial following at Calvary Cemetery.Condolences may be shared with the family at www.FlagstaffMortuary.com.In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation in Dawn's name to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at https://donate.lls.org/lls/donate.Arrangements are by Lozano's Flagstaff Mortuary