FOR over 40 years, Dr Zachary Vincent Lopez committed his life to animal care.

But during a memorial service on June 4 to celebrate Lopez’s life, it was said that “the world lost” more than just a kind-hearted veterinarian, but a loving and caring man.

“He was a very soft-spoken person who we have never witnessed lose his temper,” his brother-in-law David Minott reflected during the service at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Church, off North Street

in Kingston.

Still, it would have been impossible to talk about Lopez, without mention of his lifelong love for animals and the zealous way in which he guarded his profession.

Before retiring in 2007, Lopez served as chairman of the examination committee of the Jamaica Veterinary Medical Association. It is said that during his tenure, he served as the “gatekeeper of the board”.

“He ensured that those entering the profession were qualified. He was an example of what it means to be a true veterinarian,” said Grace McDonnough-Lyon, in tribute to her long-time friend.

McDonnough-Lyon added that Lopez was a man who was passionate about education, hard work, determination and family life.

Cecil Brownie, another long-time family friend, offered the sole remembrance. He described Lopez — a man who journeyed across the globe with his wife and children Adrian and Amanda to establish himself — as a true veterinarian.

Lopez is a born Kenyan and the youngest of three brothers. He left Kenya in 1961 to study at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in England. He was the first member of his family to attend university.

In August 1964, after completing university, Lopez boarded a plane with the aim of visiting his birthplace of Nairobi, Kenya.

It was on this flight that he met a young Jamaican nurse, Bermae Hope Minott, who would become his wife. She too had studied in England and was set to start a new life in Kenya. She was assigned an aisle seat, but insisted on a window seat. Being the mild-mannered, kind man Lopez was, he offered up his window seat. A conversation soon developed and Lopez later became Minott’s tour guide in Nairobi.

Twelve months later, they became the first non-white couple to marry at the Karen Catholic Church in Nairobi. Back then, in the mid-1960s, it was not an easy time for non-whites, even more so for mixed couples from different cultures to tie the knot. Their marriage lasted over 30 years until Mrs Lopez’s death 14 years ago on May 24.

After marriage they travelled and lived in Kenya, India, Germany, England, Scotland, the United States of America and St Kitts before finally settling in Jamaica.

Together, they had a vigorous entrepreneurial spirit and founded a children’s nursery, a health food company, a veterinary clinic and several other businesses. Lopez also served as senior veterinary research officer and lecturer in a university in the United States.

At the memorial service, it was said that Lopez suffered from a disease that was frustrating and debilitating. However, it never changed him. He hardly complained and was filled with grace and peace until his death at the age of 72 on May 24 — the 14th anniversary of the death of his wife.

His two children did not offer tributes, but together they read a passage from the book of Wisdom.

In the funeral programme his children wrote: “…our parents led by example, teaching us to value the sanctity of marriage, the virtues of fidelity, patience and commitment, to be loving, honest, caring, hard-working and productive members of

the society”.