Jennie O. Lopes, 31, of New Bedford died Wednesday August 16, 2006 at St. Luke's Hospital after a long illness.
Born and raised in New Bedford, the daughter of Amaro Costa Lopes and Darci Duarte (Oliveira) Lopes of New Bedford, she lived in Atlanta, Georgia for several years before returning to live in New Bedford.
She was a graduate of New Bedford High School and UMass Dartmouth.
Jennie was formerly employed as a sales representative for Southern Bell in Atlanta.
A free-sprited person, she loved sports, dancing, shopping, and fashion. She enjoyed writing stories and poetry. She was a cheerleader in both high school and college and was later a cheerleading coach.
Survivors include her parents; a daughter, Jordan Amara Lopes of New Bedford; two sisters, Anna Lopes and Ana Bertani, and her husband Frank, all of New Bedford; two brothers, Amaro O. Lopes of New Bedford, and Armando Lopes of Boston; a niece, Kiara I. Lopes; three nephews, Brian and Jason Lopes, and Stepheno Bertani; an aunt, Maria Goncalves of New Bedford, and two uncles, John Silva of Wareham, and Lucio Lopes of Texas, as well as other aunts and uncles in Cape Verde; and several cousins.
She was the granddaughter of the late Antonia Duarte Soares and Jose Gil Oliveira
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 9 AM in Our Lady of the Assumption Church. Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Friday from 4-8PM in the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.