Santa Paula Memorial Service Scheduled for Air Crash Victims

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday for John Forrest Lires, 44, and his 10-year-old daughter, Erin, who were killed last weekend in an airplane crash along the Santa Clara River.

A longtime Ojai area pilot and an electrician for Taft Electric in Ventura, Lires and his daughter were killed instantly when their Cessna 195 developed engine trouble moments after taking off Sunday morning.

“It’ll be a service for his friends and family,” said Doug Dullenkopf, a family friend of 15 years who is hosting the service at Santa Paula Airport, in the hangar of Screaming Eagle Aviation at 822 E. Santa Maria St.

There will be a memorial flyover by local pilots at the airport during the service, which Dullenkopf said would be a remembrance for his two friends.

“He was very well-liked,” Dullenkopf said. “A little bit quiet, but one of those real down-to-earth people.”

Erin was an accomplished horse rider and a child actress who had appeared in several television shows and commercials.

“John loved to fly and Erin loved to ride horses,” Dullenkopf said. “Erin had nothing but a big future in front of her.”

A memorial fund has been set up on behalf of Lires’ wife, Terri, and daughter Wendy, 13.

Donations to the John and Erin Lires Memorial Fund can be mailed to Greg and Rebecca Straubel, 12256 Ojai Road, Ojai, CA 93023.