From meeting 55 years ago at a Catholic Alumni Dinner-Dance near Universal Studios, to passing away on consecutive days, the life, marriage and death of Pamela Hartnagel Darrow and Francis Joseph Darrow, Jr. is such a beautiful example of true love for spouse, it could be a classic romantic movie.
Born Pamela Jane Hartnagel on February 22, 1946 to Stephen Richard Hartnagel and Dorothea Sydow Everett Hartnagel in Ventura, California, Pam grew up in Santa Paula, California. The great-granddaughter of Ventura County pioneer apricot farmer, Aratus Everett and granddaughter of Ventura County Surveyor Ernest Everett, Pam mid-life continued the tradition of agriculture by operating the family orange ranch with her husband, Frank, as the fourth generation of Ventura County apricot / orange farmers. Pamela initially spent summers working in the Santa Paula orange packing house, graduating from Santa Paula High School in 1963. She earned an Associate’s degree from Ventura College. She studied Social Sciences for two years at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo before transferring to Cal Poly Pomona where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1968. She became a passport examiner for the Los Angeles Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S. State Department where she worked until becoming a full-time homemaker in 1975.
Born Francis Joseph Darrow, Jr. on September 8, 1942 to Francis Joseph Darrow and Stephanie Meakin in Los Angeles, California, Frank grew up in Los Angeles. Seeing the joy his father had in a teaching career, and enjoying working with his hands, Frank combined these interests by pursuing a career in teaching industrial arts. After graduating from Loyola High School in 1960, he earned an Associate’s degree from LA Trade Technical College. He then received his Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Arts with a Teaching Certificate from California State Los Angeles in 1966. He taught Sheet Metal and Welding (Metal Shop) at Huntington Park High School for the entire duration of his teaching career from 1966 until retiring in 2000…