Yolo County CA Obituary Project Obituaries.....LOPES-TROTH , Isabel "Izzy"  April 30 2002
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Peggy B. Perazzo pbperazzo@comcast.net September 2, 2004, 7:39 pm

"The Davis Enterprise," Friday, May 03, 2002
Isabel "Izzy" Lopes-Troth

Activist dies of heart attack

By Lauren Keene/Enterprise staff writer

Isabel "Izzy" Lopes-Troth, a longtime East Davis resident whose battles with
City Hall helped make City Council meetings must-see TV in Davis, died April 30,
2002, at Sutter Davis Hospital. She was 50 years old.

As word of her death made its way around the community Wednesday, her friends
and family paused, often emotionally, to remember a unique woman and activist
whose mission it was to make Davis a better place to live.

"She was the conscience of the community," Davis Enterprise columnist Bob
Dunning said. "She had a habit of telling it like it is without concern for who
it might offend or who it might please. I don't think there's a person in Davis
who loved the town, truly down deep, more than Izzy did."

Added Davis Mayor Susie Boyd: "If there's a governing body in heaven, Izzy will
be giving them hell."

Born June 25, 1951, in Sacramento to Joseph and Mickey Lopes, Lopes-Troth grew
up in the California Delta. Her family moved to Davis in 1966.

Relatives described Lopes-Troth as an optimist who was devoted to her family and
friends, often putting their needs before her own.

Many people in Davis came to know Lopes-Troth from her frequent appearances in
front of the City Council and Planning Commission, where she spoke out on
controversial issues such as the Wildhorse residential development in northeast
Davis, the Richards Boulevard widening proposal and the once-struggling Oak Tree
Plaza shopping center near her home.

But she was perhaps best known for her fight against the construction of the
Pole Line Road overcrossing connecting East and South Davis, arguing that it
would bring increased traffic and threaten the safety of residents along the
roadway. When the project was approved, however, Lopes-Troth became just as
active in the effort to lessen the project's effects on the Pole Line Road
corridor.

"Izzy is a synonym for resolute," Boyd said. "She had a vision for how things
should be, and she never hesitated to speak out. This community is a better
place because Izzy was here, and now she's gone."

In 1995, Lopes-Troth had one of her legs amputated, the result of complications
from the diabetes she had struggled with since childhood. Weber-Johnson, who met
Lopes-Troth six years earlier as neighbors rallied to oppose the Pole Line
overcrossing, recalls visiting her in the hospital at the time.

"I whispered to her that she had to come back and tell (city parks
superintendent) Bob Cordrey what color crape myrtle trees she wanted on the
overcrossing," Weber-Johnson said, adding that those trees are now on the verge
of their springtime bloom. "When they do, I'll be thinking of Izzy, and I think
we all should because they're there because of her."

And although failing health slowed down Lopes-Troth in recent months, "I never
gave up on her, because she was one feisty lady," Weber-Johnson said. "It's a
testament to her spirit, that she just kept going."

A mother of two children, Lopes-Troth also was active in Davis school issues.

Davis resident Rene Hannah recalled that it was Lopes-Troth who convinced her to
join the PTA at Birch Lane Elementary School, which their sons both attended.

"She was friends with all different walks of life, from the mayor to a mom like
me," Hannah said. "She got me involved and made me feel like I could do it --
and I did. She was very inspiring and encouraging."

Lopes-Troth is survived by her husband and best friend of 23 years, Raymond W.
Troth of Davis; their children, Heather and Matthew; sisters Jacque Peters of
Red Bluff and Nina Lopes of Davis; a half-sister, Paulette Mercado of Woodland;
and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Joseph Anthony Lopes III.

Friends are invited to attend a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday at St. James
Catholic Church, 200 W. 14th St. in Davis. A reception will follow at the
church's Parish Hall.

Burial will be private in Rio Vista. Arrangements are under the direction of the
Davis Funeral Chapel.


Additional Comments:
Submitted with the permission of the "The Davis Enterprise," 315 G Street,
Davis, CA 95616.

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