| Graduation Year | Class of 1936 |
| Date of Passing | Jul 14, 2009 |
| About | "Lupita Lopez" Ethel Louise Riley or Ethelouise W. Smith, daughter of Frank Jerome Riley and Louise Weller Riley, passed away on July 14, 2009 after a brief illness following treatment for cancer in Tucson, Arizona. Ethel Louise was born in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and spent her formative years in Zanesville and graduated from Zanesville High School. She was the granddaughter of Herminie P. and Samuel A. Weller of local pottery fame. Following high school, Ethel Louise received formal training as an actor, dancer and musician. She started her career as a dancer and vocalist with the "Enrique Madrigero's Band" at the Waldorf Astoria and the Astor hotels in New York City. She married bandleader, Jack Lopez of New York City. The couple entertained internationally and also in the United States as the "Jack Lopez Band." Like many in the theatrical business she formally changed her name and became professionally known as "Lupita Lopez." When Lupita and Jack divorced, Lupita continued her career as an entertainer and traveled to the Orient singing Cuban and Afro-Cuban numbers, where she became known as the "Sky Rocket" in Japan and China. Individually, she performed at the famous New York Palladium and several of the famous night clubs in Miami including the Fountain Bleu. Lupita was unique, artistic, talented and beautiful until the end. She permanently settled back in Zanesville a few years ago but continued to travel around the country to visit friends and the fellow entertainers she had performed with over the years. Lupita did not have children. She is survived by a brother, Sam Smith; a niece, Stacey and nephew, Craig, all of Tucson, Arizona. She is also survived by Frederic J. Grant and family of Zanesville, Ohio; and her friend and driver, Charley Hrbek. She was loved by many and will be missed. Services for Lupita will be held Friday, August 14, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. at the Weller Mausoleum in Woodlawn Cemetery where she will be interred. Dr. Herbert Hicks will be officiating. |
