Bethzy Lopez, 7, ‘charged right through’ her obstacles
Bethzy Lopez lived life to the fullest, those who knew her said.
The 7-year-old loved dressing up and painting her fingernails: pink and purple were her favorite colors to splash on the end of her fingers.
The Greenport girl also loved attending birthday parties, going to church and playing with her two younger siblings.
“No matter what her obstacles were she just charged right through them,” said Sister Margaret Smyth of the North Fork Spanish Apostolate, who was close with Bethzy and her family. “She was bright, funny, and bilingual.”
Bethzy died Sunday after living with a genetic disorder that affected her heart and lungs, and prevented her body from getting enough oxygen. She was tethered to an oxygen tank by a tube inserted in her throat and she was the size of a 1 1/2-year-old child, Sister Margaret said.
“All her life she reacted like every other child,” Sister Margaret said. “She loved to tease and she liked being the center of attention.”
Greenport elementary principal Joseph Tsaveras informed the district of the young student’s death today in an email.
“It is with deep regret, that I inform you that we have lost one of our young Porters,” he wrote. “She was truly an inspiration to all. She was just 7 years young. She fought a tough battle with the will to never give up.”
She was in the presence of family at Stony Brook University Medical Center when she died. Services are being handled by Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport, where details are still being worked out.
