90-летняя коллекционерница передаст свою уникальную коллекцию плюшевых медведей в музей

Lori Lopez was just a child in the 1940s when she got her first teddy bear. Her most recent, a specialty bear from England, was a gift for her 89th birthday in September. “They’re my sweethearts,” she said, hugging one of hundreds of stuffed bears in a special room inside her Loveland home — bears of all colors, sizes and styles, each with a unique story and its own special place in her heart. Alongside the stuffed bears are bear-themed curtains, a toy bear-shaped phone, bear knickknacks, a cookie jar. Many of her bears were gifts, others bought on adventures with her father. She started collecting as a child and continued her whole life, while living and working in California (she was a troubleshooting manager in the restaurant industry), while raising her family, and even in retirement in Loveland, where she and her late husband, Joe, moved 30 years ago. Even now, she gets a special smile on her face when looking at, and giving a big hug to, her special bears. “I just love them.” 1. How did you get started collecting bears? When I was very young, my father bought me my first bear and from then on … I loved that bear so much. I wore him out. He wasn’t a big bear or anything. I could just hug him, and it felt like he was hugging me back. 2. How many bears do you have? Where are they from? Please share a memory about a special bear in your collection. I have no idea (how many). I have bears from all over, England, Ireland, France, Canada, Alaska. All over the U.S. The one with the beret on … he is one of the last bears that my second dad got for me. We used to go on hunts all over the U.S. He was involved in insurance for the aircraft business. He would have to go here and there. He’d call me Princess. He’d call and say, ‘Princess can you get off (a certain date).’ I’d get someone to stand in for me (at work). I’d say, “Where are we going?” He’d say, “It’s a surprise.” (And they’d always hunt out a special bear.) 3. What is special about teddy bears? They make me happy. They soothe me when I’m sad. I can come in here and talk to them; I just love them. 4. You will turn 90 in September. What advice can you give for a long life? Have good thoughts. Be happy. Exercise. 5. What are your ultimate plans for your bear collection in the future? It’s in my will, there’s a children’s museum in Santa Barbara, California. It’s a bear museum. All my bears will be sent there, so the children can see them and love them.