Robert Scott Lopez

How to capture such an incredible life that had such an impact on so many?

He was a joy-filled person who shared his enthusiasm for life with the countless people who loved him. His life was full of music, laughter and love and for all of us it feels as though the music has stopped. 

Robert Scott Lopez passed away unexpectedly on February 12, 2023 at the age of 65 in San Diego, CA. Scott was born February 7, 1958 in Ogden, Utah to Robert D. “Bob” Lopez and Kay (Van Zweden) Lopez. As a child, to his parents and sister’s dismay, he kept all sorts of creatures in his window well, tarantula’s snakes, and even a baby owl. He loved to be outside and got into all sorts of trouble with the help of his dog, Bo. The jury is out if he actually took karate lessons but he thought he was Bruce Lee for a few years and had the Chinese stars and nun chucks to prove it. 

Scott graduated from Bonneville High School in 1976 and married Patricia Hines and had maybe just about the two cutest kids there ever was, Travis and Kameron. He began working as a meter reader with Utah Power and Light. He moved up from there and climbed every ladder (or pole) there was to climb to be a journeyman lineman. In 1986, he moved from Ogden to St. George, Utah where he enjoyed boating at Lake Powell, hiking, cooking up some mean burgers, and building a wonderful life for his family. He was an amazing father, who was buying the guitar for Trav and letting all the kids paint his truck to drive to Trav’s state football game. He was always up for wrestling the boys, he was at every performance recording all the shows and cheering in the front row. He was a dad to every kid who came into our home, and we are so thankful he was ours. 

A terrible ski accident in 1993 led to a broken back and hip and while it was a long and difficult recovery, he did it in true Scott fashion. He tricked out his crutches with a water bottle holder, sheepskin crutch pads, a rear-view mirror, and a bell, that he relished ringing loudly in public places. He started on a new journey and enrolled at Dixie College (now Utah tech) where he got associate of science degree. His first marriage ended, and a new chapter began. 

In 1999 he met Jan Peterson, his partner in everything and love of his life, and moved to San Diego, CA where he worked at San Diego Gas and Electric for 23 years until his passing. He had many abilities and worked as a journeyman lineman, a technical support administrator, a customer project planner, a senior project coordinator, a senior customer project planner, and a senior construction standards administrator to name a few. He had many, many coworkers over the years who became much more than that. It was a brotherhood and sisterhood to him and when the power goes out, we call Scott.

He was a joyful person with a true zest for life and it showed in how he spent his time. He ran a marathon, he was the enthusiastic captain of his boat, he went out and caught huge fish in the ocean, which he then made into amazing food that he gave away to everyone who came over. He surfed, and if we ever expressed worry about him looking like a seal and getting eaten by a shark, he said he didn’t eat sharks so they wouldn’t eat him. He golfed and golfed and golfed some more. He was an amazing chef, and artist. He loved to camp, especially at his wife’s family cabin in Wyoming. He was a cut-man and enjoyed boxing, the Green Bay Packers, and Jimmy Buffett and was a proud member of the Parrot head club and did so much charity work with them.  He was an amazing snow skier AND water skier. He loved Napoleon Dynamite and Dune and the Lord of the Rings, especially Monty Python and the Holy Grail. He could not take a normal picture for the life of him. He could tinker away at any and everything, was incredibly talented at his job. He loved to play his guitars more than anything. His love for music ran very deep and you could hear it nearly everywhere he went.  

He loved his friends, and his friends were never just friends. They were family. The impact he had on their lives and that they had on his one that will endure. He had the amazing ability to make everyone feel included and like they belonged. He had a very unique way of making everyone feel special.

He was warm and funny and smart and goofy. And there is no debate to how handsome he was. His smile could - and did - light up any room. He was truly a friend to anyone and had the best sense of humor, always making everyone laugh. He was also kind of nerd and always used the cute glasses emoji when responding to texts, and if he got a text, you could hear the quaking duck notification he picked out. If he could leave us with any wisdom, which he had a lot of, it would be something like: “Don’t put off joy. Have the fun now.” He lived his entire life that way. So go and have some laughs, have some fun, and listen to a great song for our beloved Scott. 

How incredibly lucky we all are to have got to know him and love him. “Though I cried I was proud to love a man so rare…” He will be sorely missed and never forgotten, and we will all be anxiously waiting for the day to hear his music playing again.

Scott is survived by his wife, Jan; his children, Travis (Angella) Lopez and Kameron (Bryce) Durr; his sister, Claudia (Kevin) Read; his mother, Kay Lopez; and his four grandchildren, Mercedes and Gabriel Lopez, and Oliver and Henry Durr. He was preceded in death by his father, Bob; and some very close and dear friends. 

Graveside services will be held on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 3 p.m. at Lindquist’s Memorial Gardens of the Wasatch, 1718 Combe Rd. Friends may visit with family on Wednesday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.