BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Family and friends gathered to celebrate the 100th birthday of World War II Navy veteran Ralph J. Lopez, marking what his family calls a special milestone.
Lopez was overwhelmed with emotion on his special day, describing the celebration as "terrific" and "charming."
Born in Bakersfield, Lopez served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard USS LST 225 as a signalman third class. After the war, he worked for a bottling company and later spent more than 30 years as a welder at Hopper Machine.
"He worked for a bottling company for years and then Hopper machine worked for 30 something years as a welder," said Rosemary Lopes Yap, one of Lopez's two daughters.
Yap said her family had been planning the celebration for two years and was amazed at the turnout.
"Oh, I think it's great that they all showed up. These people, a lot of them are from out of town. Yeah. So a lot of them came from out of town, Paso Robles, LA, you know, so, yeah, we're glad that they're all here to enjoy it with him," Yap said.
Nathan Jarrod Romero, one of Lopez's five grandchildren, said he treasures every moment with his grandfather.
"This is something that I don't take for granted, because I'm sure a lot of people don't get to cherish moments like this. I couldn't ask for much more than what we're doing today for them. Yeah," Romero said.
Romero has fond memories of spending time with his grandfather, particularly their Sunday golf outings where Lopez would share stories about the war.
"Always going to golf on mainly Sundays. He would always tell me all his old stories about the war," Romero said.
The grandfather's wisdom has had a lasting impact on Romero's life and work ethic.
"He always said, if you're gonna do a job doing right, and I'll take that I mean, I've taken it to heart forever, and every day I go to work, I think of the same thing. I instilled that in my children. Every time I'm doing something, something, I always have them in the back of my mind," Romero said.
Lopez said he struggled to find words to describe his feelings about the birthday celebration.
"Oh, is wonderful. That's a wonderful feeling. It's hard to describe the feeling for gracious," Lopez said.
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