Diane Marie Lopez, 62, who was an integral part of the Tracy Press for 34 years, died Thursday morning at home in Manteca.
Her death followed a battle with cancer for most of the past year.
A native of Los Banos, she was the daughter of Tony and Carmen Silva.
Mrs. Lopez came to Tracy in 1981. She and Steve Lopez, then a Tracy High football and baseball coach, were married on Aug. 7, 1982.
After joining the Tracy Press staff in 1981, Mrs. Lopez was classified advertising manager, general advertising account executive and manager, and marketing and human resources director. She was involved in almost every aspect of the newspaper through her retirement in 2015.
Will Fleet, publisher of the Tracy Press, issued this statement after learning of her death:
“Diane was an important person at the Tracy Press for many years, and she was very helpful to me when we went through the transition of ownership. She served in various roles with the paper, including advertising account executive. I’m sure that her many advertising customers remember her fondly, as we do.”
Three years ago, Mrs. Lopez joined the Pescadero Reclamation District as office manager.
In Tracy, she was a member of Soroptimist International of Tracy and St. Bernard’s Catholic Church. The family moved to Manteca in 2008.
As the wife of a coach, she attended nearly all of the games in which her husband was involved and also provided refreshments for post-football game film-viewing sessions.
In 1993, her husband became Merrill F. West High School’s first head football coach, and she was proud to be on the field with her family on Sept. 19, 2008, when West High’s new stadium was christened Steve Lopez Stadium.
Survivors include her parents, Tony and Carmen Silva of Los Banos; her husband of 36 years, Steve Lopez of Manteca; and three sons, Ryan Lopez of San Jose, Larry Lopez and his fiancé, Paul Park, of San Jose, and Andy Lopez and his wife, Katie, of Orange County.
Also surviving are two grandchildren, James and Chloe Lopez of Orange County; and two brothers, Norman Silva of Hilmar and Raymond Silva of Merced.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 21, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 505 E. North St., in Manteca. P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Home, 290 N. Union Road, in Manteca, is in charge of arrangements.
Memorial contributions can be made to the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, P.O. Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94145-0339.
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