Roy was born in Palisade in February of 1944 to Jewell Marion Lance Nave & Jess Newt Nave, the 3rd of which would eventually be 6 children. Roy went to Riverside school as a youngster and later attended Grand Junction High School. He then took correspondence courses to obtain his mechanic’s certifications which family and friends all over the valley would benefit from for most of Roy’s life. He was a gifted mechanical problem solver and incredibly generous with his time and skills.
In 1963, as a result of a blind date, Roy met Faye Ann Grubb. They married in July and welcomed their Son David Lee later that year. They celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary in 2019. Lifelong partners in all things fishing and hunting.
Though David is Roy’s only child by birth, in true Nave style, with open arms & acceptance, Roy & Faye “adopted” David’s 2 best friends from high school, Bob Barrett & Scott Wylye who considered Roy their teacher, confidant, friend and honorary Dad to his dying day. That was Roy’s way. He loved people and had a way of making anyone and everyone feel like they were special and important to him and a part of the Nave family.
As a young man Roy worked construction for companies such as May’s Concrete & McCrary Construction working on projects all over western Colorado such as the Mesa Mall, the east wing of St. Mary’s Hospital, the Durango High School and McFee Dam just to name a few. In 1982 he opened the doors of Roy’s Auto Repair shop which he owned and operated with his son David for 8 years after which he built a shop on his own property and did his mechanic’ing from home. Roy was also well known for his time behind the counter at Gene Taylor’s selling guns & ammo and all manner of sporting goods for nearly 17 years.
Roy was a lifelong member of the First Assembly of God Church on 4th & Grand Ave, later Victory Life Church in Fruita. He was the go-to mechanic for the church’s bus ministry as well as keeping the Pastor’s and their family’s vehicles on the road for many years. In his later years Roy could be seen on the riding lawn mower at VLC every week, tirelessly mowing, in his spare time between fishing trips with Faye to water holes all over Mesa County.
Hunting and fishing were Roy’s passions. He was a Life Member of the National Rifle Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and the Grand Junction Trap Club as well as many other outlets for sharing his love of the great outdoors.
Roy is preceded in death by his father, Jess N. Nave who passed in 1993 and his brother Larry Nave who passed in 1999. He is survived by his wife, Faye Nave, son David (Jennifer)Nave, grandson Jess Albert Nave, brother Garry (Yvonne)Nave, brother Robin (Kathy)Nave, sister Becky Nave (Dan)Goode, & brother Charlie (Suzi)Nave as well as his mother Jewell Marion Nave and many treasured aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins all of whom love him dearly and will miss him greatly.
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