BRANFORD, CT – Mrs. Elizabeth Jane “Betsy” (Barrows) Lopez, 75, of Branford, CT (formerly of Topsfield, MA) and loving wife of Orlando Lopez, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 23, 2022 at Yale New Haven Hospital with her devoted family by her side.

Elizabeth grew up between Wilmington, Delaware (her birthplace) and Louisville, Kentucky. She received a bachelor's in philosophy/pre-med from Skidmore College in 1969. Shattering one of many glass ceilings, she completed her coursework for Skidmore at Yale University the year before Yale officially admitted women. In 1975, she earned an MBA from the University of Colorado.

Breaking barriers as a woman who excelled in business, Elizabeth had an accomplished career. She rose up through the ranks of corporate finance in companies like Medtronic and Hewlett Packard to become the CFO of Stearns Computer Systems and the Controller of Symbolics where, during her tenure, it became the first company to receive a dot-com web address. Elizabeth transitioned to venture capital and consulting for Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Later in her career, she worked as a real estate broker, bringing together her talent for shrewd business deals with a love of architecture and people.

Elizabeth was also a devoted and caring wife, mother, and grandmother. She loved spending time with her family, pottery, architecture, and cooking. Recently, she enjoyed connecting with her Jewish roots from the side of the family that fled the Holocaust. Alongside her husband, sister, and daughter, she visited Frankfurt, Germany for the dedication of a stumbling stone to her grandfather Hans Maier.

In addition to her husband Orlando with whom she shared 54 years of marriage, Elizabeth is survived by her children Gwendolyn Lopez of Westport, Connecticut and Robert Lopez of San Francisco, California. She is also survived by her five grandchildren: Jacob, Gabriel, Benjamin, Joshua, and Hannah Cohen; and her three siblings: Peggy West, Barbara Morgan, and George Barrows.

She exemplifies the following quote from the introduction of her grandfather Hans Maier’s unpublished biography: “That is what lives on after death, parents in their children and in subsequent generations.” 

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