Maria Lopez, wife of 911 dispatcher Lupe Lopez, dies of virus issues
The adult children of 911 dispatcher Lupe Lopez, who died last month of COVID-19, thought their mother, Maria, 56, was going to pull through the virus and rejoin them at home. But overnight Saturday, she was pronounced dead at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, said daughter Erica.
“It’s a sad ending to a beautiful love story,” Erica Lopez said Saturday afternoon from her parents’ home. “I accepted it. I love God. I am not angry with him. I am angry at the
selfish person who did not wear a mask and infected my father.”
The couple first battled their COVID-19 infection together at home, until it worsened and they had to be hospitalized. Erica, who is the oldest of the couple’s three children, said they are cleaning up their parents’ home before they make arrangements for Maria’s funeral.
“It looks like ground zero from the front to back. Medicine bottles everywhere, tissue. It really shows how hard they fought to stay here with us. My dad really fought to make sure my mother beat this virus,” EricaLopezsaid.
She talked about howher father would be so proud knowing he received full honors from the Chicago Police Department, andsaid that has never happened for a police dispatcher, mentioning the outpouring from his colleagues.
Her mother, affectionately known by those in the Little Village neighborhood as “Lupita,” is getting the same amount of love.
Maria Lopez owned and operated a tax business in her neighborhood and would help immigrants fill out tax returns, day and night, her daughter said.
“She would get out her bed if necessary to help whomever needed her,” Erica Lopez said.
After her husband died last month of the virus, Maria Lopez seemed to be recovering, having been placed on dialysis when her kidneys became challenged due to the virus. Finally she was up and on oxygen, her daughter said.
But it seemed she just gave up at some point.
“My parents suffered at home, they suffered in the hospital, but now they are dancing in the sky together. They loved house music and Julian Jumpin’ Perez,” she said.
Last night, Erica Lopez said she screamed into her pillowso no onewould hear her pain.
“I don’t know why this happened to my family. My fatherwas just going to a job he loved and got sick. NowI have to explain to my 8year-old that his grandmother won’t be coming home,” she said. “Theywere so in love. One could not be without the other.
“The hardest part was telling my 85-year- old grandmother her daughter is dead,” Erica Lopez said, adding she requested an ambulance while she broke the news. “We are orphans at Christmas time. But I have big shoes to fill. I am the oldest so there’s no time to break down right now.”