BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Lopez was overwhelmed with emotion on his special day, describing the celebration as “terrific” and “charming.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Yap said her family had been planning the celebration for two years and was amazed at the turnout.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Nathan Jarrod Romero, one of Lopez’s five grandchildren, said he treasures every moment with his grandfather.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Romero has fond memories of spending time with his grandfather, particularly their Sunday golf outings where Lopez would share stories about the war.<\/p>\n
“Always going to golf on mainly Sundays. He would always tell me all his old stories about the war,” Romero said.<\/p>\n
The grandfather’s wisdom has had a lasting impact on Romero’s life and work ethic.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Lopez said he struggled to find words to describe his feelings about the birthday celebration.<\/p>\n
“Oh, is wonderful. That’s a wonderful feeling. It’s hard to describe the feeling for gracious,” Lopez said.<\/p>\n
“This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.”<\/p>\n
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