He loved automobiles; his first one was 1954 Ford pickup truck. He started building his own hotrods as a teenager after moving to California in 1957 with his family. He was a typical 1950’s street racer; he loved racing his cars. Eventually he moved from street racing to racing at Irwindale.Besides automobiles, Archie enjoyed fishing, camping, golfing, the Dodgers baseball, and Lakers basketball. He was affiliated with the following organizations over the years: 20-30 Club, Kiwanis, Automobile Dealers Association, Southern California Golf Association, Ventura County Bowlers Association, and Ventura County Bass Masters.Archie is survived by his wife Pat, son Mike of Kiowa, Oklahoma; grandson Michael of Santa Paula; sisters, Oleta Allen (husband Alfred) of Oklahoma, Clara Wheeler of Oklahoma, Betty Cochran of Oxnard, Ruedean Grieve (husband Tom) of Ventura, Marie Lynch (husband Harry) of Piru, Kay Cotton (husband Dewey) of Tehachapi, Martha Craig (husband James) of Santa Paula, and Mary Meierhoff of Piru; brothers, James Mitchell (wife Francis) of Oklahoma and Doyle Mitchell (wife Irene) of Oklahoma; and numerous family and friends. He will be greatly missed by all.Archie was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Mitchell in 1975, and mother, Bernice Mitchell in 1999, both of Santa Paula; nephew Chip Cotton; and brothers-in-law Scott Meierhoff, Archie Cochran of Ventura County, and Warren Wheeler of Oklahoma.Archie was laid to rest on January 16, 2007 in Kiowa, Oklahoma.
Obituaries
January 31, 2007
Obituaries
Laura “June” (Herrick) Flanagan
Laura “June” (Herrick) Flanagan, 87, passed away on January 26, 2007.June was born in Los Angeles May 15, 1919 to Ben and Mary Herrick. She went to high school in LA and continued her education at UCLA. June worked for Douglas during World War II. She moved to Santa Paula after she married Kenneth D. Flanagan in 1947. She worked at Bank of America in Santa Paula until her children were born. June was active with the Presbyterian Church where she served as an elder and a deacon and was active in their bible study group. June enjoyed sight seeing and took naturally to being a tour guide for Donna Tours. She spoiled her grandchildren greatly by taking them with her on many fun tours. June volunteered at Food Share for many years.June leaves behind 3 children, Carole (Allan) Butler, Corrine (Rich Rubin) Flanagan, and Darrell Flanagan. She worked very hard to make sure that her grandchildren, Bree (Chad) Valla, Drew Butler, and Bryce Flanagan, never had to do without. She was also very proud of the fact that she was a GREAT grandma to great-grandson Corbin Valla.Graveside services will be held at the Santa Paula Cemetery at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, January 31, 2007. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Mupu 4-H Scholarship Fund, 17028 April Ln. Santa Paula, or Food Share.Archie Lee MitchellLongtime Santa Paula resident Archie Lee Mitchell passed away at his home in Oklahoma from complications of cancer on January 12, 2007. He was a Santa Paula business owner and mechanic for many years prior to his retirement.Archie was born to Ralph and Bernice Mitchell in Oklahoma on January 4, 1940. Much of his youth was spent helping his grandfather with farming and his father at his sawmill equipment.
