A Tampa native born to The Rev. and Mrs. Leonard E. and Martha L. Nelson, Mary Alice and older brother Martin were raised in Louisiana. Mary Alice is married to Victor, who is from Mexico. They have three children, Philip (Atlanta), Ana (Missoula, Montana), Victor (Tampa), and a grandson, Miller (Atlanta).
Mary Alice received her BA in English and Spanish from Salem College, Winston-Salem, NC, and her MBA from USF. After working in international business for a time, she went to work for her children’s school, Saint John Greek Orthodox Day School, when they needed someone to work in their office. The position evolved into adding Spanish to the curriculum. She built the program and taught Spanish for 17 years. Over time, she left the school to care for her mother until she passed away.
The Lopez family were active members of Saint Christopher’s Episcopal Church, where Mary Alice got “the call.” After completing deacon formation, she was ordained to the diaconate by The Rt. Rev. John B. Lipscomb in 2003. She served among the people of Saint Mark’s in Tampa for 16 years until her retirement. Along with her duties at Saint Mark’s, she served in the Hispanic community and on the Commission on Ministry until 2017.
Deacon Lopez and Victor have been attending Saint John’s and now look forward to serving among the people.