Sonia E. (Molina) López

Sonia Enriqueta López Molina, age 80, of Newtown Square, Pennsylvania passed away peacefully on May 3, 2023 while receiving hospice care at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Sonia was born to a successful and close-knit family in Havana, Cuba and saw the tumultuous tide of the Cuban Revolution land on her doorstep. Threatened by the shifts in government and afraid for their daughters' safety, Sonia's parents sent her and younger sister Nora to the US on their own in 1961 to find a more stable life. Salesian Sisters of Cuba aided in their escape during Operation Peter Pan. Sonia was 19; Nora was 14. 

Through the loving support and generosity of the Sisters of St. Joseph at St. Joseph's Village in Rockleigh, NJ, Sonia became established enough to sponsor her parents' emigration to the US. Reunited, the family eventually settled in Philadelphia where Sonia met Villanova chemical engineering student and future husband Pedro at a church social. They married at Incarnation of Our Lord in Olney in April 1967. They remained married for 53 years until Pedro's death in 2020.

A surprising and little-known claim to fame came in 1966 during her work at the Fleer Corporation, of bubble gum and baseball card fame. Pressed by an executive to find a word to describe a new raspberry-flavored candy, Sonia declared "razzle"! And the treat whose jingle was, "First it's a candy, then it's a gum. Little round Razzles are so much fun" was born.

Sonia was an exceptional cook and hostess, and an avid traveler. She was active in the community and enjoyed singing in the St. Anastasia choir throughout the 1980's. But perhaps her favorite pastime was to be surrounded by and holding babies, especially her eight grandchildren and multiple nieces and nephews.

Sonia was preceded in death by her loving parents, Humberto Molina Caballero and Edelmira Molina Gonzàlez and devoted husband Pedro Antonio López Herrera. She is survived by her four children: P. Antonio (Suzanne), Carlos Xavier (Kathleen), Verónica Maria and Alina Maria and her beloved sister, Nora Garcia.  She adored and is survived by her eight grandchildren: Michael, Heather, Alejandro, Nieves, Palona, Calixta, Kofi and Issac. 

Relatives and friends are invited to her visitation on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 from 10 am until 11:30 am at King Funeral Service, 209 N. Newtown Street Road (Route 252), Newtown Square, PA 19073. Funeral Mass will follow at 12 noon at St. Anastasia Church, 3301 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, PA 19073. Inurnment following Mass at SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery in Springfield, PA. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation to the Salesian Missions at https://salesianmissions.org Mass cards are also welcomed.

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