Mary Alice Navarro 

“Big things come in small packages.” This was true when it came to Mary Alice Navarro. She was petite but had a big spirit! Mary Alice was born on June 27, 1936, to Natalia and Diego Perez in Santa Barbara, CA. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants, she had a rich heritage to draw from throughout her life and was bilingual in Spanish and English. She was the youngest of 7 siblings and finished high school in 1955. She enjoyed working in many areas in her lifetime such as a food service worker, secretary in an insurance company, a bilingual teacher’s aide, and a banking assistant, but her favorite jobs were being a mother, a “tia” (aunt) and caring for and nurturing her five grandchildren. She met Gilbert at a bus stop in Santa Barbara and later married him on September 27, 1959. She loved to travel, cook Mexican food, bake, sew, have dinner out, and spend time with her friends and family. She was known as “Lichi” to her friends and family, and she was a vivacious person with a very giving and kind soul. She loved to worship God in dance and laughter as often as she could! Vascular dementia took her from this earth on June 18, 2023, which was a Sunday, a church day, her favorite day of the week. Her “mija” Kathy was right by her side as she breathed her last breath. She was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Gilbert Navarro and she will be dearly missed by her two children, Salvador Navarro of Montana (wife Darlene) and Kathy Navarro Sochel of Ventura (husband Richard) as well as by her wonderful friends and the joys of her life, her grandchildren (Daniel, Christopher and Rachel Navarro; Jonathan and Juliana Sochel). Special thanks to the staff at Silverado in Thousand Oaks for their loving care during her last months of life. A Celebration of Life is planned for Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Poinsettia Gardens Club House, 11370 Darling Rd., Ventura, CA 93004. To attend, please go to: https://celebrationoflife-maryalicenavarro.eventbrite.com