Sweetly, goodbye

About a year ago, a young boy who had bought a Hot Wheels car for $2 at Bobbie Mifflin’s candy store stopped by a few days later to make a confession.

He had found out since then that the car was a rare collectible that was worth $85. Did Mifflin want the car back?

“She said to the boy, ‘You bought a treasure and it’s yours to keep,’ ” said Pepper Jones, recounting one of her favorite stories about her friend, the woman known to Balboa Peninsula residents as “the Taffy Lady.”

It was an obvious nickname for the 77-year-old woman who died Monday of a heart attack. As the owner of Mifflin’s Salt Water Taffy, she sold sweets and knick-knacks on Palm Street since 1987.

But she was also known by her friends and loved ones as a generous and devout Christian. In fact, her customers knew if they could recite a Bible verse, Mifflin would give them a free piece of candy.

She was “a good Christian woman” who would help the homeless, as well as the rich, her son Dennis Mifflin said.

She was an icon on the peninsula, Dennis Mifflin said Tuesday. On Tuesday, Dennis Mifflin found flowers outside the store at 100 Palm St.

“She had many, many friends,” he said.

Karen Sharpe, another friend, remembered how Mifflin took time to bake chocolate chip cookies for Sharpe’s 18-year-old son, Scooter, when he graduated from high school last year.

“That was just the kind of person she was,” Sharpe said. “She was just a wonderful lady who rode her bike around town and was friendly to everybody.”

Mifflin was a single mother when she opened for business at the Balboa Fun Zone in 1969. She had only a high school education, but she made a go of it with the business.

In 1987, she moved her store to Palm Street.

Dennis Mifflin, his brother, Lee, and sister, Nancy, helped Mifflin run the store. His mother’s hard work helped finance their college educations. All three are teachers now.

Mifflin was born in Norwalk and moved to Newport Beach in 1969 with her children.

In addition to running her store, Mifflin also worked as a dishwasher at Tustin High School during the winters.

“These jobs allowed her to be with her kids as much as possible,” Dennis Mifflin said.

The store is closed now but will reopen after a brief period of mourning, Dennis said.

Mifflin is survived by her sons, Dennis and Lee; her daughter, Nancy; 13 grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be private, but a public memorial will be held later this month. It’s still being planned.