Molly Navarro was born in a small village called Wollaston in the middle of England on July 11, 1923. She was the youngest of 4 children. She had two older sisters, Olive and Edie and an older brother, Tom. She grew up a country girl surrounded by green fields filled with wild flowers and grain. When WWII broke out she became an air raid warden watching out for any lights that might be showing from the houses and worked in a mica factory. She attended lots of dances put on for the men in the different services. She met her husband Bob Navarro at one of these dances. Bob served in the U.S. 8th Air Force during WWII repairing the Flying Fortresses that were bombing Germany. He was stationed in the neighboring village of Poddington.
Their first child, Ann, was born in England at the end of the war in October 1945. Bob served in France after the war but returned to the States in 1946. Due to family and financial issues, he was unable to send for Molly and Ann until 1950.
When Bob and Molly were reunited they lived in Tijuana, Mexico with Bob's family for one year. They lived in a three bedroom house with 7 other family members. Molly did not speak a word of Spanish and her mother-in-law did not speak a word of English.
While in Mexico, Molly became pregnant with her second child. She developed polio during her pregnancy and was hospitalized for over 2 weeks. She made a full recovery and soon after moved to San Bernardino, CA in 1952. Bob and Molly had three more children while in San Bernardino. In 1966, due to a job transfer, they moved to Chula Vista.
Molly's first job in the USA was at JCPenney on Fifth Ave. in Chula Vista where she worked till the age of 70. In 1985, her husband Bob passed away suddenly from cancer and she continued to live by herself in their family home for many years. She was a member of St. Pius X Church and was active in the Social Actions Committee with her daughter Ann and her husband Fred Minjares.
Molly was baptized a Methodist in England and attended bible school regularly. When Bob decided to raise his children as Catholics she stepped up and adopted the church as her own. Although she never actually converted to Catholicism she lived her life as a Catholic, making sure all her children received the sacraments and all were married in the Catholic Church, two at St. Pius X.
When Molly was no longer able to live without assistance, she was invited to move to South Dakota to live with her daughter Denise and husband Frank. She loved the countryside and the quiet because it reminded her of her small village in England. Her entire family traveled to South Dakota to celebrate her 90th birthday in 2013. She was surrounded by about 50 of her family members including children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and in laws.
The last few years as she required more care, her son Tony and wife Sue moved in with Denise and Frank to help care for Molly. During the last days of her life she was blessed to formally be confirmed as a Catholic and received the sacraments of the church. When asked if she would like to become Catholic by Father Leo from St. Patrick's Church in Lead, South Dakota, her response was, "I don't mind." After he had given her communion, heard her confession, and confirmed her she thanked him profusely. She died peacefully, surrounded by two of her children in her own room just as she had always desired.
The family will host a reception at St. Pius X Parish immediately following internment.
