Ann "Ana" Maria Lopez

Ann "Ana" Lopez (50) of Albuquerque took her final hike on Easter, 20 April 2025 at Kaseman Hospice after an extraordinary six-year battle with multiple cancers.  A defender of the downtrodden, she fought with equal fierceness and focus for her students and community as a beloved and award-winning elementary school bilingual educator for 20+ years.  An avid traveler and explorer, she reveled in the diversity and novelty of Creation and humanity's interaction with it.  Even in the end, she lived without fear and with an insatiable hunger for life.  She lived and died with extraordinary strength, passion, and dignity and always urged others to join her in that effort.  Her infectious smile, the relentless sparkle in her eyes, the power of her laughter reminds us that being TRULY alive is a radical testament to the power of love and the connection it naturally cultivates in all of us.

Ann is survived by her husband John Simms, mother Teresa Lopez, brother David Lopez and wife Tricia, brother Joe Lopez, sister Silvia Carpenter and husband Andy, and cousin Elias Bernardino.  She was preceded in death by her father Joe J. Lopez.

Services will be held April 30, 2025 at St. Thomas de Aquinas, 1502 Sara Rd, Rio Rancho, NM 87124.  Rosary at 10:00am.  Mass at 10:30am.