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Obituary: Clarence "Dada" Lopez
By OMAR SIERRA
Clarence William Lopez of Placencia Village passed away in the caring embrace of his family on the 11 th of May, 2018.
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"Dada" as he was affectionately known by his family and all denizens of Placencia, was a man who was blessed with life long enough to see his children bring forth 11 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
Clarence "Dada" Lopez Nov. 20, 1924 - May 11, 2018. The co-founder of Placencia Fishermen's Cooperative passed at 94 years old.
He was born to Christopher and Agnes Lopez on Nov. 20, 1924 in Placencia Village, and let’s go back, way back. His first level of schooling was done in Dangriga Town then in Placencia where he eventually grew up as a young man. One of his first professions was being a carpenter. Dada was known for being a perfectionist in everything he did, so much so, that if he hung a door and it seemed a bit off level by half a millimeter he would take down the entire door, fix it and reinstall it. Eventually he found a life in fishing and made it his livelihood. It is said that when Dada came in from fishing he would take his time and scrub, wash and clean his boat from bow to stern until not even a grain of sand or fish scale could be found. Remember, he was a perfectionist. One of his favorite hobbies was playing the harmonica. He looked forward to playing it on special occasions especially during Christmas time when they would all have Christmas brams [Editor's Note: Brams are a longtime Creole tradition where revelers would go from house to house to feast and play Creole music during the Christmas holidays.]. Dada looked forward to times like these and would normally be spotted in a mischievous trio made up of himself, Mr. Villa and Bobo.
In his 20s, when most would argue that he was the most handsome Placencia man around, he met the love of his life, Cordelia Cabral. The two were married on Nov. 28, 1948 and eventually brought forth five children: Fenton, Sydney, Cynthia, Errol and Monica.
He was the child of one of the first Garbutts who inhabited Placencia Village. Dada was also one of the founding members of the Placencia Fishermen’s Cooperative. He was the eldest male in the village and a well respected Placencian.
Dada, you were a stalwart and a man amongst men. And, you will be missed immensely.▪
