Olibama Lopez Tushar

Olibama Lopez Tushar (1906 – 2004) was an American scholar of Hispanic heritage in Colorado. Her book, The People of El Valle, is influential in the history and genealogy of the San Luis Valley.

Biography Olibama Lopez was born on January 2, 1906, at Los Rincones near Manassa, Colorado. Her parents were Fernandez B. Lopez and Josefina Manzanares, and she had one brother. She descended from Spanish settlers from New Mexico that migrated to the San Luis Valley in 1849 as part of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. When she was 6 years old in 1912, her family moved to Zarephath, New Jersey, before returning to the San Luis Valley within 2 years.

Recognition In 2003, she was honored with The Lena L. Archuleta Community Service Award by Denver Public Library.

A bronze bust of Lopez Tushar is in the Gates Western History Reading Room of the Denver Public Library.

She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2022.