Plan for the Future
Blanca Lopez, 83, of Whippany, New Jersey, passed on away on Friday, October 27, 2023 after a short illness.
Blanca was born on December 5, 1939 to Jose Antonio Lopez and Blanca Carasa in Havana, Cuba. While in Cuba, Blanca studied at Colegio de Baldor where she graduated with a Secretarial Studies degree. Blanca worked as a translation secretary at the Universidad de la Habana. While still in Havana, Blanca married the love of her life, Abelardo Lopez Sr. (Al) on January 26, 1962. Blanca then fled to the United States on January 29, 1962 where she first settled in Miami. Once reunited with her husband, Al, 5 months later, they relocated to Astoria, Queens. While living in Astoria, she worked at the United Nations as a Translation Secretary. They then moved to Chatham, New Jersey before settling in Whippany, New Jersey in 1975.
Blanca was a stay-at-home mom for many years before embarking on a career at Allied Chemical in the Controller’s department where she was a statistical typist; she retired in 1996. Blanca was an avid reader and loved anything related to the Royal Family, autobiographies, and cook books. She also loved word searches and crossword puzzles. Blanca will be remembered for her cooking of Cuban food and devotion to her family and friends. Her favorite pastime was keeping up to date with everyone near or far. She was a proud member of the Colegio de Baldor Alumni Association where she served as the President of the New Jersey Chapter for one term.
Blanca was predeceased by her husband, Al, of 53 years, as well as her sister Marta and brother Jose Antonio, Jr. (Tony). She is survived by her daughter Blanche and son Abelardo Jr. (Al), his wife, Denise and her brothers, Eduardo (Eddy) and Miguel (Mickey) and their wives, Josephine and Zoe. Blanca is survived by her cherished grandchildren, Carlee and Jillian Lopez, and Jason Harty as well as many nieces, nephews, and extended families.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, November 3, 2023 at 9:30 at Notre Dame of Mt. Carmel Church, 75 Ridgedale Ave. Cedar Knolls, NJ. Interment Restland Memorial Park, East Hanover, NJ. Visiting hours, Thursday, November 2, 2023 from 4 pm to 8 pm at Bradley Braviak Funeral Home, 49 Whippany Rd. Whippany, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations in Blanca’s name may be made to: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Pl. Memphis, TN 38105-9959. To send the family a condolence, please visit, www.bradleyfuneralhomes.com.
