Bill Lopez: An unforgettable impact

  • Bill Lopez poses in front of a wall decorated with his awards in mid-May. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    Bill Lopez poses in front of a wall decorated with his awards in mid-May. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
  • DeWitt County Sheriff Carl Bown, Bill Lopez and Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon pose together in October 2021. Contributed photo.
    DeWitt County Sheriff Carl Bown, Bill Lopez and Lavaca County Sheriff Micah Harmon pose together in October 2021. Contributed photo.
  • Bill Lopez reads from I LIKE ME, a familiar book to many long-time Yoakum ISD students. Photo by Hans Lammeman
    Bill Lopez reads from I LIKE ME, a familiar book to many long-time Yoakum ISD students. Photo by Hans Lammeman
  • Bill Lopez poses with a child who received a wheelchair donated through a Rotary program in Peru in the early 2000s. Contributed Photo.
    Bill Lopez poses with a child who received a wheelchair donated through a Rotary program in Peru in the early 2000s. Contributed Photo.
  • Bill Lopez poses with a child in a donated wheelchair through a Rotary program in Peru in the early 2000s. Contributed Photo.
    Bill Lopez poses with a child in a donated wheelchair through a Rotary program in Peru in the early 2000s. Contributed Photo.
  • Bill Lopez’s bedroom wall displays awards from several organizations. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
    Bill Lopez’s bedroom wall displays awards from several organizations. Photo by Hans Lammeman.
  • Karen Barber, Vicki White, Bill Lopez and Hannah Hartman pose in August 2021. COntributed Photo.
    Karen Barber, Vicki White, Bill Lopez and Hannah Hartman pose in August 2021. COntributed Photo.
  • Vicki White hands Bill Lopez a Paul Harris Fellow Award in October 2021. Contributed Photo.
    Vicki White hands Bill Lopez a Paul Harris Fellow Award in October 2021. Contributed Photo.

    In a window of free time amongst his schedule cluttered with doctor’s appointments and “taking care of his final business,” as he puts it, Bill Lopez took the time for an interview to discuss several decades of involvement in the Yoakum community.

     

    As he sat back in his home to recall anecdotes and life details, it became clear why many describe him as the local face of volunteerism. 

     

    While Lopez’s bedroom contains dozens of awards from local organizations, his story dates back to his time before Yoakum as a military veteran turned businessman.

     

    Lopez was born in Edna and attended high school in Yorktown before serving in Korea with the Air Force in the early 1950s. 

     

    His career spanned several industries and cities until it concluded with his retirement from  Padre Drilling Company as Vice President of Operations in Corpus Christi in 1997. Lopez and his wife, Bonnie, moved to a rural property in Lavaca County for a quiet retirement after raising five children.

     

    Though he was not yet familiar with many Yoakum community members, Lopez was anxious to use retirement as an opportunity to volunteer.

     

    “I found that I had enough time to give a little bit back to the community that I hadn’t been able to do before due to my work schedule,” said Lopez.

     

    It did not take long for him to meet locals who shared his passion for volunteerism; this spawned nearly two and a half decades as a member of the Rotary Club of Yoakum.

     

    “(Charles Kvinta Sr.) invited me to lunch with the Rotary and introduced me to everybody,” Lopez recalled. “I knew right then and there that it was probably an organization I needed to find out about and get acquainted with.” 

     

    Lopez said a true shift in his perspective came on a trip to Mexico to see a project of the Rotary Club of Reynosa to relocate children from an unfit orphanage.

     

    “(The orphanage) was a bunch of old shanty buildings that I wouldn’t have even put a cow in, I don’t think. I walked in there with the rest of the group, and all I saw was small children…” said Lopez of the early 2000s trip. “That’s when I knew that I‘d become a real Rotarian. I knew that my job was to help other people, and it made quite an impression on me.”

     

    Lopez and his wife moved closer to the Yoakum city limits in 2004, though Bonnie passed away from lung cancer a year later. Before her death, the Rotary Foundation recognized her as a Paul Harris Fellow.

     

    Despite his loss, Lopez continued his dedication to volunteerism. He and five fellow Rotarians brought 250 wheelchairs to Mexico for kids in need. 

     

    “(After) taking the 250 (wheelchairs, the) following year a group of Rotarians got back together and we took 550 wheelchairs to Peru to distribute in all the villages (for) the people that needed (the chairs) to help them get along in life,” said Lopez.

     

    Through his years in Rotary, Lopez’s accomplishments include two terms as Rotary Club of Yoakum president, four as lieutenant governor and several years as assistant governor. 

     

    His Rotary-related achievements include the Paul F. Gustwick Community Service Award in 2003, Rotarian of the Year recognition, Service Above Self Award, being inducted into the Rotary Hall of Fame, and much more.

     

    Additionally, Lopez served his community as Yoakum Area Chamber of Commerce Director and President, Yoakum Community Hospital Board Member, Executive Director of the M.C. Jamison Youth Center, Veterans of Foreign Wars Club Service Officer, Helping Hands and Hearts for Yoakum Director, Country Music USA Director and Greeter, Yoakum Heritage Museum Executive Director, Conoco Phillips Citizens Committee Member and many other roles.

     

    Lopez said keeping the M.C. Jamison Youth Center operating through the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic was one of his proudest accomplishments. He had promised an old friend that he would keep the after-school program open for children seeking assistance with their school work and a meal.

     

    “Before Mrs. Jamison died, on her death bed - like I said, she and I were very close - I promised her that I would keep the Jamison Center open as long as we had one child coming,” said Lopez. “Because if we can help one child better their education and have a better life for themselves, that’s all the center is about.”

     

    When asked what drove him to dedicate himself to his community for so many years, Lopez said it was the locals he met along the way.

     

    “It’s the people of Yoakum, it's the people…” Lopez said. “I don’t think I’ve met a bad person in my life (in this community). Some people I might disagree with, but there are so many good people.”

     

    After Bonnie’s passing, Bill had the privilege of traveling with his good friend and partner Dorthy Mgebroff throughout the United States, South America and Europe. Lopez said Mgebroff’s family was as dear to him as his own.

     

    Although volunteering kept him busy most days deep into his 90s, Lopez’s life shifted drastically with a visit to a Houston doctor in December 2021 to address shortness of breath. 

     

    The doctor diagnosed Lopez with stage four lung cancer in his spine and lymph nodes, and told him no operations were available due to the potentially fatal risks of treatment. 

     

    While he receives small doses of chemo to prolong his life, he remains grateful for his life and loved ones.

     

    “Like I told the doctor, I've had such a wonderful family and a wonderful life. I just love everything about it. Whatever the good Lord wants to do with me, I’m fine with it,” Lopez said.

     

    He said he now spends much of his free time admiring the simple things in life and recommends others to take the time to appreciate the beauty around them. 

     

    “I like to sit out on the patio and look at the trees, and I like to look at the sky – how beautiful the sky is. A lot of people in life never look up at the clouds; they don’t have any idea what the clouds even look like,” he said. “If you just sit out there and look at clouds and watch the trees, watch the birds… What a wonderful place God has given us.”