Mike J. Lorenzana; Lifelong Ventura Resident

Ventura native Mike J. Lorenzana Sr. died Friday following a lengthy battle with a heart condition. He died while doing his favorite activity--fishing on the Kern River. He was 75.

Lorenzana was born March 4, 1923, to Victor and Nellie Lorenzana. He was a lifelong resident of Ventura and a seventh-generation Californian.

Lorenzana attended Ventura schools before embarking on a career in roofing. He was a 40-year member of a local roofers union.

On Jan. 15, 1943, Lorenzana was drafted by the Army to serve in World War II. He was stationed in Germany and was a member of the unit that liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945, his family said.

After being honorably discharged from the war in November 1945, Lorenzana returned to Ventura where he and his wife, Dolores, raised three children.

Lorenzana enjoyed fishing and hunting and spending time with his good friend, Ralph Moreno.

Lorenzana is survived by his wife; a son, Mike Lorenzana Jr. of Portland, Ore.; two daughters, Lenore Burnett of Bullhead City, Ariz., and Susan Berry of Ventura; two brothers, Victor and Albert Lorenzana, both of Ventura; three sisters, Mae Speer , Dorothy Barrios and Evelyn Arellanes , all of Ventura; five grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

There will be a memorial service at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura. Interment will be private.