Michael Anthony Navarre

Michael Anthony Navarre was born 7/30/1939 to Theodore and Geraldine (Gladue) Navarre in Detroit, Michigan. Mike was the third child with older siblings Margarita and Richard (Dick). Five years later the family welcomed the fourth child, a daughter Carolyn Louise. Mike attended Arthur Elementary school where he first started taking violin lessons. He says that the teacher in music class played a recording of different instruments and when he heard the violin played, he knew that’s what he wanted to play. He ran home from school to tell his mom, who was a pianist, and she agreed to the lessons at school and private lessons. He attended Denby High School and graduated in 1958. He played the violin in the school symphony as first chair in his senior year. The family’s parish was St. Matthew’s where he received First Communion, Confirmation and religious instruction.

As a kid he liked the usual kid things, bike riding being his favorite, playing ball and chasing in the street until streetlights came on and time for homework and bed. He liked making things and learned some woodworking skills from a Cub Scout leader. Television was just becoming popular, and he was very interested in how it worked and electronics in general. He made a large TV antenna so his dad could watch blacked out Detroit sport teams (Lions, Tigers and Redwings) on Canadian television channels.

The family had a summer cottage on Lake Huron where they spent all summer boating, fishing, water skiing and exploring a tributary river with the rowboat. He tells the story of him and Dick going on an adventure and tried to sneak out a jar of peanut butter and bread for the adventure but were caught by Mom. Their dog Buttons would come on the explorations.

After high school and attending and graduating from The Electronics Institute in Detroit, Mike joined the U.S. Navy for four years. While in the Navy he spent time in Adak, Alaska, Istanbul, Turkey and Key West, Florida. While in the Navy he started writing to Carroll, who was best friends with his sister Carol. They wrote lots and lots of letters. When he was home on leave, they went out on dates. One summer Carroll was invited to the cottage while Mike was home on leave and they had their official first date dinner and a movie followed by a walk on the pier. Then they would go on walks along the beach accompanied by a Basset Hound chaperone Spooky. Carroll and Mike’s family also visited Mike while in boot camp in Great Lakes, Illinois. After his time in the Navy Mike applied for and was hired by Honeywell as a computer engineer. He then went to MA for additional training in computer technology. When he was officially hired by Honeywell, he proposed marriage to Carroll and then reported to his first assignment in coastal California during their engagement …more letters.

Mike and Carroll were married in St. Paul’s on the Lakeshore in Detroit, MI in October 1965. Then the newlyweds moved to California. Mike worked on a large main frame computer system that had by today’s standards had less memory than a cheap calculator. Their daughter Julie arrived a year later. What a proud Dad. He learned kid songs and the need to have a stuffed turtle or Raggedy Ann at bedtime. Julie was followed in two years by Michelle. Now he learned about bears in red dresses, ballet and dress up. As little people Julie and Michelle would argue over whose dad he was. One day they were heard in the hall arguing “NO he’s MY Dad” and “NO he’s MY Dad”, mom had to intervene, and were told, he’s both your dads. That didn’t even go over well. About the same age Julie was upset with Mike because she knew he was an engineer and assumed he was a train engineer like her next-door neighbor friend whose dad was a train engineer. Julie’s dad didn’t operate a train, he was a computer engineer. Six years after Julie was born here comes Emily who made her surprise appearance just in time for a Mikes job transfer to Ogden, Utah. Then Mike started learning about dinosaurs. In his new home he was happy with work, his family, HIS three girls and dog Ginger AKA Nana dog.

In Utah there was skiing to learn, camping and tubing trips in local rivers, summer trips back to California to visit High Sierra Meadows the family property near Yosemite, so many great memories. The home in Utah was in the North Ogden foothills at about 4500 ft elevation. So the area got almost year-round snow…Fall, Winter and Spring. Mike “just loved” shoveling all that snow. The crowning blow was when one winter the roof needed shoveling several times. Otherwise the weight of the snow would make it so that doors in the house wouldn’t open…TOO MUCH SNOW! During the family’s time in Utah they became members of St. James Catholic Church. Mike joined the St. James Choir, and a little bird told the choir director that Mike could, but rarely played the violin. So his violin was dusted off and with the choir director’s encouragement he started playing at St. James and then the Rocky Mountain Symphony. In North Ogden with Mt. Ben Lomond on guard, Mike was happy with work and his family and their beloved St. James church family. The church family spent many holidays, birthdays, events and camping excursions with Mike, Carroll and the girls and this group are still in frequent contact with each other after more than 50 years.

In 1984 he was transferred to Santa Maria on the central coast of California (Yay No Snow!) to work at Vandenberg Air Force Base where the West Coast Space Shuttle was to be launched. While there, he took violin lessons and played in the Santa Maria Symphony. His two oldest girls graduated from high school and then off to college. The family took a trip to Paris to visit Michelle while she was studying at the University of Paris at the Sorbonne. While Emily was still in high school, she and Mike both played in the Santa Maria Symphony and Alan Hancock College Orchestra. A highlight of membership while playing with the Santa Maria Symphony was that they played on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th at the La Purisima Concepcion Mission. The Mission Church and pathway were lined with luminaries on that cold, starry night. It was very quiet in spite of many people in attendance at the concert except for the braying of donkey and sheep.

As one may expect with the Challenger Disaster the program at VAFB was cancelled. So another transfer to Hanford in the California Central Valley. As the family moved again, Mike was happy with his work, HIS girls and the first of many Golden Retrievers, Charles P. Duckworth.

Living in Hanford, there was a three-hour drive to the family’s mountain property. So Mike spent many hours doing projects in the cabin, including putting in solar power. The whole family worked to help Mike with various projects at the cabin and on their lot. "The Navarre’s", Lot 41.

Many happy memories at the cabin and the frog pond along with a few scary ones involving rattle snakes and an attempted bear cabin break in. It was so sad to see Mike survey the cabin sight after the Creek fire destroyed the cabin…. all that hard work for it to end up in ashes. The last visit was a day trip in the Fall of 2022 with Julie and granddaughter Danielle. The forest was starting to grow back but unfortunately cabins don’t just grow back.

His work site in Hanford was Honeywell systems at Naval Air Station Lemoore. His work schedule gave him the opportunity to finish college and he was extremely instrumental in helping Carroll continue her nursing education.

Music became a great part of his life in Hanford, especially after retirement. He and Emily played with the St. Brigid’s choir, Reedley College Orchestra and the Kings Symphony of which he was a board member and eventually board President.

The Reedley College Orchestra went on trips abroad to play music and learn about the world. Some of the places Mike and Carroll visited were Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Figi and Australia. Mike and Carroll also took cruises to Alaska and French Polynesia.

Mike and Carroll celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in Michigan. They visited Monroe Michigan filled with Navarre family history and a visit to St. Paul’s on the Lake, Port Huron where his family cottage was. They also visited Mackinac Island.

Mike took a trip to Michigan for the beatification of Blessed Solanus Casey which was an exciting event for him because as a small child Mike had many eye infections with a strong possibly of vision loss. His mother heard of a blessed priest, Father Solanus Casey, known for healings. So his mom took her small son by bus to visit the church where this priest was visiting. He blessed Mikes eyes, told Mom his infections would be cleared by time they got home, which is exactly what happened. A coincidence, Father Solanus also played the violin!

Just a few special memories. Mike presented what his family called his stern and logical “Mr. Spock” side to his personality, then if something very funny would happen or someone would say something silly or ridiculous, Mike would fall into a “conniption” – an uncontrollable laughing spell. These “conniptions” were quite funny for the family in contrast to the Mr. Spock facade. The car rides, camping trips, vacations in the van with always a girl’s chorus coming from the back of the van. The girls would sing Girl Scout or church songs. His favorites were “We’re from Nairobi” (he loved the chorus) and “The Dicky Bird” or a Sunday School song “Peter Built the Church”. Then there was the recitation of the movie “Young Frankenstein”, complete with sound effects.

Being the father of three girls can be a challenge as drama could happen in a flash. To be perfectly honest it could have been much worse. The special look they gave him, the Daaaad or “but Dad” or flittering of the eyelashes went a long way to get their way. Not always but often enough.

After retirement in 1995, he taught young people to play the violin. He had several students that challenged him with their talent. He kept busy with gardening and projects around the house and of course his music. He had been happy in work and now retirement and HIS three girls, an amazing Grandson and Granddaughter and his loving wife. This included long walks with the second Golden Retriever Linus Long Licker and current Golden Retriever Joshua (named after his favorite violinist Joshua Bell) and of course his well-earned post-retirement backyard pool time.

A fall and head injury while gardening, several hospitalizations, Emily’s sudden death, COVID and influenza just overwhelmed his 84-year-old body, so God called him home on January 5, 2024. Mike was surrounded by the love and comfort of all his girls as he passed. Mike was a loving, caring and compassionate husband of 58 years, father, grandfather, dog dad, uncle, cousin and friend. His memory, love, talent, silly nature and compassion will live on in the hearts and minds of his loving family and all those whose lives he touched. He loved his family. He loved his dog. He loved life and he wanted to stay in it. He loved music. He loved nature and the peace and quiet of the mountains. He loved traveling and exploring the world. He loved playing his violin. He was kind and funny and loved to tease and joke with all around him. He was a talented craftsman and loved woodworking. He Loved Life!!

He is fiercely loved and will be missed beyond measure.

Michael is survived by his wife Carroll Navarre of Hanford, CA, sister Margarita (Navarre) Gearhart of Coeur d’Alene, ID, daughter Julie (Navarre) Sandland of Rosamond, CA, daughter Michelle Navarre of Olympia, WA, Grandson Zachary Sandland of California City, CA, Granddaughter Danielle Sandland of Rosamond, CA, and cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family. He is preceded in death by his daughter Emily Navarre of Packwood, WA, sister Carol (Navarre) and Don Seck of East Bethel, MN, brother Richard Navarre of The Villages, FL and his parents Theodore and Geraldine Navarre of Detroit, MI.

A Rosary and Funeral Mass for Michael will be held on Monday, January 22, 2024 at 10:00 AM at St. Brigid Catholic Church (1001 N Douty St, Hanford, CA 93230) with reception to follow immediately at St. Brigid Youth Center (319 N Harris St, Hanford, CA 93230). The Graveside service for Michael and Emily Navarre will take place on Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Kings River Cemetery (10499 Dover Ave, Hanford, CA 93230).