Obituaries : Services Set for Simi Residents Killed in Arizona Plane Crash

Funeral services for the four Simi Valley residents killed in an Arizona airplane crash are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

The four will be buried side by side in the Simi Valley Cemetery following the service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 480 Sinaloa Road in Simi Valley.

Rescue workers found the bodies of Donald Lee Muchmore, Peggy Lou Muchmore, Venessa Gonzalez and Brandon Scott Miller in the wreckage of the Muchmores’ Cessna plane on an Arizona mountaintop April 28. The airplane, piloted by Donald Muchmore, was last seen taking off from an airport in Albuquerque, N.M., 10 days earlier. Its destination was the Santa Paula Airport.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Arizona Civil Air Patrol officials said.

Donald Muchmore, 52, was a retired Ventura County sheriff’s deputy. The Sheriff’s Department honor guard will attend the funeral. The Independence, Iowa, native was also an assistant track coach at Simi Valley High School and a member of the American Owners Pilot Assn. At the time of his death, he was building his retirement home in Arkansas.

He is survived by his mother, Jean Shaffer of Olewein, Iowa; daughters, Kim Ortiz of Moorpark and Kerri Muchmore of Ignacio, Colo.; son, Erik Dissing of Denmark; brothers, Richard Muchmore of Waterloo, Iowa, and James Muchmore of St. Paul, Minn.; and a grandson, Adam Ortiz of Moorpark.

His wife, Peggy Muchmore, 47, was a dental assistant and hygienist. She was a Cal State Northridge graduate and an award-winning cook and crafter.

The Honolulu native is survived by her mother, Violet Thompson of Arleta, Ga.; brother, Jon Maaso of Los Angeles; and grandmother, Margaret Brousseau of Arleta, Ga.

Mrs. Muchmore’s son, Brandon Miller, 17, was a senior at Simi Valley High School. He was a member of the school’s track team and represented Simi Valley High School at the Youth Leadership Council in Washington, D.C., this year. He had been awarded a full academic scholarship to attend the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

The Simi Valley native is survived by his father, Robert R. Miller of Thousand Oaks; and grandmothers Nell Miller of Virginia and Violet Thompson.

Miller’s friend, Venessa, 17, was also a senior and a member of the track team at Simi Valley High School. She also belonged to the cross-country team, Spanish Honor Society and the International and Ecology clubs.

She is survived by her mother, Yvonne Robledo; father, Joe Robledo; sisters, Divina Gonzalez and Bernadette Robledo; and brothers, Hulisses and Rahssan Robledo; all of Simi Valley. She is also survived by her grandparents, Guadalupe and Juan Pedroza of Oxnard.

Visitation for all is today from 2 p.m. to 4 at the Reardon Simi Valley Mortuary, 2636 Sycamore Drive.

A family friend has set up a fund to help Venessa’s family pay for her funeral. For more information, call 583-8748.