Galt family of four killed in plane crash on their way to a ski trip in Montana

A Galt family of four were among the 14 people who died Sunday in a fiery plane crash while on a ski trip to Montana. Members of the family, from left, Vanessa Pullen, Michael Pullen, Christopher, 7 and Sydney, 9. (Photo courtesy of KCRA)

Galt family of four killed in plane crash on their way to a ski trip in Montana

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 6:20 AM PDT

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A Galt family of four were among the 14 people who died Sunday in a fiery plane crash while heading to a ski trip in Montana.

Mike Pullen

Dr. Michael Pullen, who worked at a dentistry practice in Valley Springs, and his pediatrician wife, Dr. Vanessa Pullen, died along with their two children, 9-year-old Sydney and 7-year-old Christopher.

Michael, or “Mike,” Pullen grew up in Galt, where his parents and sister still live. They were a close-knit family, friends and neighbors said, and always seemed happy.

“Just a genuine neat family,” said Dann Dodds, principal of Lodi Seventh-Day Adventist School, where both children were students. “They had a very positive outlook on life, and that showed in their children.”

Vanessa Pullen’s father had invited them to an exclusive Montana ski resort, along with her sister’s family from St. Helena, a small town in Napa Valley. They usually took a couple ski trips a year, said Dr. James DuHamel, Pullen’s partner at the Valley Springs dental office where he worked.

The plane was leased by Pullen’s father, who had traveled to Montana earlier and would meet the family when they arrived Sunday. The plane made a couple stops with its last one in Oroville, near Chico, to pick up another dentist’s family, DuHamel said.

The small plane has almost arrived at its destination in Montana when it crashed in a cemetery, killing all aboard. Scenes of the crash made newscasts across the country Sunday as loved ones learned of the tragedy.

“She was very nurturing,” friend Jenny Sanford said of Vanessa Pullen. “She was a pediatrician and cared for my kids.”

Sanford, who lives in Elk Grove where Vanessa Pullen practiced, cried as she sat in her vehicle parked in the Pullens’ driveway.

Media vehicles arrived during the day at the Pullen family’s brick home in rural Galt. Yellow flowers bloomed outside, and a skateboard rested inside a fence — the only item out of place at the tidy home.

The family went boating together, had cats and had just gotten a black lab puppy a few weeks earlier, said neighbor Florence Grose. The puppy was named Licorice, and the children were excited about it, Grose said with a smile.

Mike Pullen grew up in Galt and attended Lodi Academy. His children were attending the elementary school on the same school grounds.

Christopher was “all boy,” Dodds said. The first-grader liked sports and music, but he also got good academic grades.

Sydney, who was in fourth grade, was more into the arts but also earned good grades, Dodds said. Just last week, she had a part in a school play.

The school of 200 students, ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade, is on spring vacation this week, so the Pullen children’s teachers called all of their classmates’ parents. Counselors will be available when classes resume next week, and Dodd met with a grief counselor Monday night to get some advice on how best to talk with students.

“I’m 64 and I’ve never had to deal with this. I don’t know what to do. Do we clear out their desks or do we leave them?” he said.

The students also knew the Pullen parents.

Vanessa Pullen was involved in the parent-teacher organization and held a blood drive for it, as well as getting involved in countless other fundraisers and assemblies. She also helped in Christopher’s classroom, listening to the students practice reading.

Mike Pullen worked more hours, but at least once a week he’d go to work later so he could take the children to school, Dodd said. The principal asked if he’d be interested in volunteering on May 1 for Presidential Fitness, which encourages youths to be healthy and fit. Mike Pullen said he’d see what he could do, and the next time he saw Dodd, he’d worked it out.

“He smiled from ear to ear and said, ‘I got the day off!’ He was excited to be able to spend the day here,” Dodd said.

Mike Pullen was well-liked at his dental office, where employees were still trying to grasp the idea that he was gone, DuHamel said.

He had worked at the Valley Springs office for about five years, and previously worked in the Redlands area with his father-in-law, also a dentist. He’d previously been a civil engineer, DuHamel said.

The family was well-off, but friends said the Pullens weren’t showy and instead tried to help others. Every year since kindergarten, the Pullen parents held a breakfast for Seventh-Day staff members, showing up with a wide array of food and setting it up themselves.

“That’s the type of people they are — were, I should say,” Dodd said.

Neighbor Florence Grose, 82, remembers seeing the children playing.

“They loved to be outdoors. They had three cousins down the street and they ran back and forth,” she said.

Lois Gifford, an aunt of Michael, who is acting as a family spokeswoman spoke outside Michael's parents’ home Monday afternoon. “They were just a great family. He was a great dentist, very particular in his work. She was a great pediatrician. They were just both extremely professional,” she said.

Michael loved to ride motorcycles, she said, and had traveled on a bike through Europe.

Their son, Christopher, loved tae kwon do, and Sydney played piano.

Michael also gardened.

“He had tomato plants he was nurturing to put in the garden when he got back. The hardest thing was driving by his house last night, you could see the lights inside the house over his tomato plants and he'll never get to plant them,” Gifford said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

HRH6S1 wrote on Mar 26, 2009 7:55 PM:

" What a sad and tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and loved ones of those lost. "

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Gator wrote on Mar 26, 2009 7:18 AM:

" Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free!
I follow the plan God laid for me.
I saw His face, I heard His call,
I took His hand and left it all...
I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss...
Ah yes, these things I, too, shall miss.
My life's been full, I've savoured much:
Good times, good friends, a loved-one's touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief
Don't shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow. "

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tjp80 wrote on Mar 24, 2009 9:38 AM:

" Even though my daughter is 17, we still went to EG Peds to see Dr. Pullen. She was a wonderful doctor, always making my daughter very comfortable with her physicals or examinations. She will be deeply missed. My condolences, also, to all the families. "

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Lodian wrote on Mar 24, 2009 9:30 AM:

" What a terrible tragedy. My sincere condolences to the family. "

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Brian wrote on Mar 24, 2009 8:11 AM:

" My condolences go out to the family. Although I did not know the Pullen family I'm sure there are some people I know in the area who did. "

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