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Stephanie Lopina Obituary

Stephanie T. Lopina

Stephanie T. Lopina, age 44, of North Canton, Ohio, passed away on Sunday, September 14, 2008.

She was born in Geneva, Ill. on January 17, 1964. Stephanie was a 1982 graduate of Roncalli High School in Manitowoc, Wis. She went on to earn her Bachelor's Degree in 1986 from Notre Dame, her Master's Degree in 1989 from Lehigh and her Ph.D from M.I.T. in 1995. Stephanie was a member of St. Paul's Catholic Church in North Canton and was a Chemical Engineering Professor at the University of Akron.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Mary McHugh. Survivors include her husband, Tom Meadowcroft; son, Thomas Meadowcroft; daughter, Anne Meadowcroft; parents, Thomas and Roma Lopina; six brothers, Tom, Andrew (Elizabeth), Joseph (Colleen), Bartholomew (Annemarie), Philip (Heather), and Matthew; father-in-law and mother-in-law, T. Raymond and Elnora Meadowcroft; brothers-in-law, Chris Meadowcroft and Mike McHugh; and sister-in-law, Cathy Meadowcroft.

In honoring her wishes, Stephanie will be cremated. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday at 2 p.m. in St. Paul's Catholic Church of North Canton, with the Rev. Msgr. James A. Clarke as Celebrant. Vistation will be one hour prior to the service from 1 to 2 p.m. in the church. A private inurnment will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lopina Educational Trust Fund at the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay, Wis., or to the St. Paul's Catholic Church of North Canton School Endowment Fund. The Reed Funeral Home North Canton Chapel is handling arrangements. Those wishing to send condolences or share a fond memory, may sign the Reed On-Line Guestbook at www.reedfuneralhome.com.

Published by Akron Beacon Journal from Sep. 15 to Sep. 16, 2008.
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Memories and Condolences
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I recently found out about Stephanie's passing, and I was shocked and saddened to hear this. I overlapped with Stephanie during graduate school at MIT. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Stephanie was truly a unique individual.

-Joyce Wong

Joyce Wong

August 14, 2009

I just found out about Dr. Lopina's death, and am so heartbroken. She was my advisor while doing my masters and I still remember how welcoming she was to the nervous 22 yr old from India. She was pregnant with little Anne at that time, and after Anne was born, would bring her along to our group meetings. She has always been my inspirational role model, as I strive to balance my family and research as a PhD student. I went through my PhD coursework and qualifiers when I was pregnant with my daughter, and used to think of her a lot during that time. Dr. Lopina, you live on as an inspiration to me, my daughter and the many more girls that I hope to inspire to pursue a scientific career. Tom, Thomas and Anne, my prayers and thoughts are with you.

vidyu challa

June 16, 2009

I was shocked and saddened to learn today of Stephanie's passing. I was her advisor during her postdoctoral stint at Princeton (1995-1996), and subsequently had the pleasure of watching her independent research career take off at Akron. Usually it was the annual AIChE meeting which gave us the opportunity to catch up; this year's meeting will be much the poorer for it. My thoughts are with you and Stephanie at this time.

Rick Register

October 29, 2008

Dr. Stepahie Lopina was truly a unique lady. She seemed to have an unending source of joy that she spread like a flame to those around her. I remember being in her Transport Phenomena class when she brought Thomas and Anne to work one day. They played quietly on the floor while she taught. I was encouraged to see that she could still be professional and a mother. I always appreciated how kind she was when I had to bring my own son, Thomas, to school with me. She would always engage him in conversation and make him feel welcome. It was quite a pleasure to bump into her on the soccer fields. She provided me with encouragement when I decided to coach my son's team. She was an inspiration to me as a mother about to enter the engineering world and I'll never forget her comforting words and joyful spirit. When I had secured a position with Praxair before graduating she was delighted to tell me about how she had worked for Air Products and she mentioned that she had a book that she wanted to give me on Cryogenic Systems. I never pushed her on it, but she had been sincere and made the time to locate the book and give it to me and we shared a conversation about some further family similarities. She held the same belief that I did that no matter what accomplishments we achieve in life, none of it compares to the honor of being a mother. If we only got one thing right in life that was the most important. Dr. Lopina will forever be in my heart. She helped me to see that you can be a chemical engineer and still love and be there for your family. I know that leaving her children here on earth was probably the saddest thing for her. I pray for you, Tom, and offer my assitance if you should ever need it. I know it will be tough to fill the void. I pray that you will always find the strength you need.

Jen Goebel

September 25, 2008

Dr. Lopina as my mentor influenced many aspects of my life and was the one that determined my career and shaped my future. She opened a door for me and led me into the world of biomaterials science, which I found to be fun and enjoyable and I would never give up.

I joined Dr. Lopina’s research group in 2000 as one of her doctoral students. I was so fortunate to work on her project funded by NSF CAREER award, the most prestigious award to recognize young investigators across the country. I was very excited about doing this project although my knowledge and experience in this field was limited at that time. As an experienced scientist, she always knew what important research problems were and how to tackle them. But she indulged me to develop my own approaches to address those problems and tolerated mistakes I made. Whenever I had problems and questions, she was always a reliable source to offer guidance and immediate support. She generously acclaimed every progress I made, making me so proud of what I did. She patiently watched me grow up and accumulate experience in this area. Now, I have my own lab and students. I am following her mode to do research, to treat students, and to deal with people. I will try my best to represent her well to continue her research and impart her education philosophy to next generations. I am so proud of being her student!

I believe the following Chinese poem can best portrait Dr. Lopina as a scientist and educator. “Till the end of life a silk worm keeps spinning silk. Till burning itself out a candle goes on lighting us.” I was lucky as I was one of many shed by her light. She made important contributions to the development of science and engineering and will generate long-lasting impact. Dr. Lopina will be remembered as a great mentor, exceptional scientist, sincere friend, and true inspiration.

Hu Yang

September 19, 2008

Stephanie and I worked together in the Wound Consortium and collaborated on a variety of research projects. I will miss her greatly. She was very intelligent and wise and yet very down to earth. She was one of the most grounded persons I know. In many meetings, when things might start to get a little stressful, she seemed to know the right thing to say to put everything into perspective. She never babbled - she said things that matter - things that you tend to think about and remember.

This is one of the hardest times a family can go through. I pray that God will be with you and guide you and hold you tight through all the tough times. I pray that you find strength in your immediate and extended family and many friends. I pray that you find the peace that only God can give.

Judy Fulton

September 18, 2008

Tom, we are shocked and saddened to hear of Stephanie's passing. You and Stephanie have been dedicated coaches at Community Soccer for several years and she will be sorely missed. On behalf of the board members of CSC we offer our sincere condolences to you, Thomas, and Anne.

Mark Ostergren

September 18, 2008

Stephanie was an inspiration to us all. She will be missed

Annabelle Foos

September 18, 2008

Dear Tom,
Words fail us for the loss of Stephanie that we feel for you, Thomas, and Anne. Please accept our deepest symphathy. We plan to attend Stephanie's memorial service.

Carol and John Ramey

September 18, 2008

I had the honor of having Dr. Lopina on my thesis committee. I was very glad to know her better. She was such a wonderful person and mentor to help me during rough times related to my research. She (like a big sister) encouraged me and told me not to give up. I was one of the luckiest people I have known her. It is very sad to lose such a nice person and great mentor.

Zeynep Gerek

September 18, 2008

Tom, Thomas and Anne,
I'm deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Stephanie. I admire her strength and the fight she had during her battle she has truly has been an inspiration for me during this past year. I fondly remember singing next to her in the choir. I always knew if I would listen for Stephanie I knew I would hit the right note. St Paul's Choir will never sound the same but I'm sure the heavenly choir sounds even more beautiful with the addition of her voice. My family and I are praying Stephanie and your family . Please let me know if there is any way I can help you in this difficult time.

Pam Schott

September 17, 2008

To the family of Stephanie:
We all feel the great loss of a fine colleague and friend in this difficult time. We will cherish our memories of her and will pray for you in this period grief and sadness.

Frank Kelley, dean emeritus (polymers)

September 17, 2008

As Bob and me sat and read the guest book, we cried. As I met various people in the campus and around my house, we could not help but talked about Stephanie, and tears came to our eyes. We all wonder why the life is so unfair to take such a wonderful human being from us at such a young age. We (all the people that I have talked to) just want to you know that she was (and still is) so well loved and we will miss her terribly.

Stephanie had such an uplifting spirit and positive outlook for life, she is truly inspirational. She put up such a tremendous fight with this terrible disease, and there was nothing more that she could do. She was so courageous that we could not ask more out of her. We are so sad to see her go, but there is a tiny comfort in knowing that she is no longer suffering. Thomas and Anne, if you don?t understand now, you will understand as you grow older that your mom had done all she could.

I am indebted to Stephanie for all of her help for the past eight years. She was the first to offer help when I joined the department (may be because we had gone to the same university, Lehigh, or may simply because she had such a big heart that she wanted to make sure her colleague would success). She has been like a big sister to me and offered me many encouragements and suggestions on my career here at UA. She initiated and co-organized the un-tenure faculty lunches, so we got together for lunch every Friday to talk about what we should do (or should not do) and how to overcome obstacles, which was so beneficial to me that I felt confident enough when I put in my application for tenure. Of course, lucky for me, she was the RTP committee chair that year and found the most suitable external reviewers who understood my research areas. I frequently sought advice from her on student advising and teaching, and she was always willing to offer. As she knew her disease worsened, she took the time to show me how to advise the honors students and provided me with all the necessary documents, which helped me transition smoothly into the new role. I will continue on her love and passion for the students, just hope that I can do the job half as well as she did.

Apart from work, Stephanie and Tom had taken our entire family as friends, which was so important to us when we just moved into the area. We will always cherish those fun moments we spent together, the wine-and-cheese gatherings (she had never skipped one, and I refused to host one without her, so when we are going on with the tradition she started, we will always have a toss on her), the Akron Areo?s games (oh, how she enjoyed those fireworks), and the volleyball matches (you had better get out of her way when the ball was coming). Or yes, also the celebration party she threw for me after my tenure was approved from the board of trustees.

We should all consider ourselves lucky to have known Stephanie and should work hard to imitate her in every facet of life.

Bi-min Zhang Newby

September 17, 2008

I had the honor of knowing and working with Dr. Stephanie Lopina for a number of years, during my tenure at Summa Health System. How very sad to lose such a bright and dedicated scientist!

Jere Boyer

September 17, 2008

Stephanie was a mentor, a teacher, a confidante, a friend, an inspiration and a lot more to me. I still remember the first day I met Stephanie at the University of Akron in the summer of 1999....this woman in khaki shorts and a tie-dye shirt walked up to me with her long blonde hair, piercing eyes and a boisterous laugh, and said "Welcome". I instantly knew that I would enjoy my graduate career immensely, with her mentoring. And so I did; and in the way, got the opportunity to meet her family, to know the multiple positive facets of her nature, to realize how amazing she was in a personal, professional and every other way. Little pieces of memories assemble in a collage as I remember the past 9 years that I have known her: Thanksgiving dinner at her home where I met her family, research-related meetings with her on sleepy Akron mornings when she used to come in with Spongebob band-aids all over her hand (courtesy Thomas and Anne!!), playing walleyball at the old Akron gym where she pretty much was invincible, conference travels where she would try to boost the confidence of us nervous presenters with her 'just do it' vocal tonic, designing lab spaces during building renovation at the university, graduation ceremonies and post-ceremony luncheons at Spaghetti Warehouse or Luigi's, showing her pictures of my first trip to Boston and her pointing out the picture of the church where she and Tom got married, having lunch at my Cleveland apartment with her family and my parents with Thomas wanting to eat only the hot dogs with ketchup but without the buns .....little snippets of memories keep gelling in.... the snippets that make Stephanie as I knew her and will always know her. My deepest condolences go out to her family and friends, and I will always cherish knowing Stephanie and being guided by her.

Anirban Sen Gupta

September 16, 2008

Dr. Lopina was one of the few professors I had that told it like it is. She was quick to offer advise about engineering and even more so about life. I'm honored to have known her, and even more honored to have learned from her. My thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

Jaclyn Shuman

September 16, 2008

Dr. Lopina was one of my greatest teachers and mentors. I was truly blessed to have learned so many academic and life lessons from her. I looked forward to her Christmas card every year, because it was always the funniest card I got and you could really tell how important she, Tom, Thomas, and Anne were to one another. My heart goes out to her whole family. I share in your grief and you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Deanna King

September 16, 2008

I have handled Dr. Lopina's research grants here at the University for several years. She was always so pleasant and nice to work with. She and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.

Regards,

Melinda White
Grant Accountant

Melinda White

September 16, 2008

Dear Tom, Thomas and Anne,

Stephanie was just an awesome human being! Her energy and enthusiasm drew me to her. Whether her role was soccer coach, girl scout mom, co-worker or friend, she touched everyone with her warmth, talents, humor, intellect and love of life. She never failed to see the "sunshine" moments even when things looked dark. I will never forget her hearty laugh, profound humor and the twinkle in her eyes (especially when she talked about her family). Although her life was short, I was blessed to have been a part of it! The days ahead will be difficult for the three of you, but, I hope that you will find peace in your favorite memories of your mom and your wife.

Heidi Cressman

September 16, 2008

Lopina and Meadowcraft families ~ My heart extends prayers of comfort and peace to you at this time. May you be surrounded and comforted with warm memories and the knowledge that Stephanie's spirit is powerful and will continue to touch and teach.

sydney, katy and sammy campanaro

September 16, 2008

Tom, Thomas and Anne,
We used to live in the neighborhood with you and our daughter babysat Thomas and Anne a few times. I am saddened to hear of your loss. I remember your family as one that did everything together, and Stephanie and you were always outside playing with the children. Hold onto those memories. This is a tragic loss for the human race. She was a very good person.

Joanne Brown

September 16, 2008

On behalf of the Civil Engineering Department I would like to express my deepest sympathy for Stephanie's family. We will miss our great friend and colleague. Our thoughts and prayers will be with all of you.

Wieslaw Binienda

September 16, 2008

Stehanie - a great leader in academics and I was fortunate to work with her for the past nine years. Her energy, excitement, and leadership will be missed tremendously.

Hari Hariharan-

September 16, 2008

Dr. Stephanie Lopina was an amazing professor, mentor, and person. I had the honor of having her on my Thesis committee, collaborating with her on research, and having her as a teacher. She was always very helpful and encouraging with my research. Her legacy will live on in the Biomaterials and research she developed. Her family and friends are in my prayers.

Andrew Ditto

September 16, 2008

Stephanie Lopina was one of the nicest, most dedicated person I have ever met. Her positive outlook was an inspiration to me. I will sadly miss Stephanie but am very grateful to have known her and for her to have touched my life.

Debbie Gannon

September 16, 2008

To the Family of Dr. Lopina,

You have our sincere sympathy.
Dr. Lopina was a guiding force with choices that my son, Michael, made in both his educational and professional career. She was a very special individual and had the ability to sharpen her students' talents. In the coming days, may you take comfort in your memories of her and know that she will always be with you.

The Ed Rottmayer Family

Mary Rottmayer

September 16, 2008

I would like to express my sadness and sympathy for Stephanie's family. I worked with Stephanie only recently, but enjoyed her frankness and sense of humor. Her contributions to the IB program at The University of Akron will be missed.

peter niewiarowski

September 16, 2008

Tom, Thomas and Anne, I'm sorry doesnt seem enough. Prayers are with each of you during this time of sorrow and healing. Remember she is at peace now. Many fond memories of her at St Pauls School. God Bless--- The Eckroates (Sheila, Kaitlyn)

SHEILA ECKROATE

September 16, 2008

Stephanie, you will be greatly missed by all who knew you. You were one of God's angels, spreading His joy and love in all you did and all the people whose life you touched. You will remain always special in my heart. Our loss is heaven's gain. You will be missed by all whose hearts you touched. My deepest sympathy to your family. Remembering you always, in His name.

Mary Ann Breslin

Mary Ann Breslin

September 16, 2008

Tom, Thomas & Anne, & Mrs. & Mrs. Lopina~
Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. Remember her as the strong, remarkable, loving, and couragous woman that she was. Please know we are here if you need us.

Michele Kennedy

September 16, 2008

Stephanie was an awesome person who kept everything in perspective. She was funny and fun and so easy to work with/for. She was a very dedicated and phenominal researcher! I will miss her terribly!

Peggy Kraft

September 16, 2008

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