Rufino Lopez

Rufino Lopez, 88, of Rossville, a retired MTA transit maintenance worker and the loving patriarch of four generations, died Friday at home.

Mr. Lopez was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He moved to Brooklyn in 1941.

He served in the Merchant Marine.

Mr. Lopez was a maintenance worker for 25 years for MTA. After his retirement in 1984, he returned to Puerto Rico. He came back to the Island in 2008, moving to Rossville to live with his daughter, Norma Tobin.

Mr. Lopez enjoyed spending time with his family, playing dominoes and listening to Spanish music. He also enjoyed horse racing and liked to visit the former OTB.

His wife of 55 years, the former Elba Santos, died in 1999. He also was preceded in death by his son, Mickey, in 1996.

Along with his daughter, Norma, surviving are his son. Frank; his daughter, Yvonne Lopez; a brother, Aurio; a sister, Celia Colon; eight grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren, and a great-great-granddaughter.

The funeral will be Wednesday from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville, with a mass at 10:30 a.m. in St. Thomas the Apostle R.C. Church, Pleasant Plains. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, also Pleasant Plains.

Services: A 10:30 AM Mass of Christian burial will be on Wednesday May 28, 2014, at St. Thomas the Apostle R.C. Burial will follow at Resurrection Cemetery.

Visitation: Friends will be received on Tuesday May 27,2014 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM

Cemetery: Resurrection Cemetery (Staten Island)

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: St. Thomas The Apostle RC Church