Carmelo Navarro

Carmelo was born on April 21, 1963 in David, Panama to Eligio & Rosa Navarro. He was #11 of 12 children, 9 boys & 3 girls. He grew up in the small, rural town of Volcan, in the Chiriqui province of Panama. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers Enrique and Lorenzo, nephew William and niece Maria. He is survived by siblings, Pura, Griselda, Blanca, David, Francisco, Diogenes, Hugo, Roger, Julio, 35+ nieces and nephews and their families.

Growing up, Carmelo was an athlete in several sports, but baseball was his favorite and it became a major part of his life. He played on a local team with his brothers and loved to compete. Carmelo was on his way to being drafted by one of the MLB teams until he injured his arm, which ended his dream of playing baseball professionally.

3 years later, in 1986, Carmelo & Roger decided to come to the West Coast where two of their sisters lived. They ended up staying in Portland, where their oldest sister Pura resided. After working a couple different jobs, they decided to start their own business remodeling homes, which continued for 30+ years.

In 1989, Carmelo met his future wife, Annette at a party at her friend’s house. They started dating and were married 2 years later in April of 1991. They added two beautiful daughters, Gabriela in 1997 and Ariana in 2001 to make their family complete. He adored them beyond words.

Carmelo & Annette were active members of St. Charles Parish & St. Rose Parish/Archbishop Howard School, where their daughters attended elementary school. They made great friends there and attended many school and social events. Carmelo also volunteered his time & skills helping on multiple school projects over the years.

Carmelo was a great friend, always with a smile and willing to help whenever he was needed. Even though he could be a man of few words, he enjoyed a great sense of humor and always appreciated a good joke. His patience was never-ending, always maintaining a positive attitude, even during his year and a half of painful suffering. He was loved by many, including friends, relatives, other contractors he worked with, his customers and especially his family.

In September of 2021, we received the devastating news that Carmelo had Stage 3 cancer, which he valiantly fought until Nov. 23, 2022.

Funeral Mass will be Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:00 pm

St. Rose of Lima Church

2727 NE 54th Ave.

Portland, OR

Mass will be live-streamed at the below link. They will go live about 15 minutes before start time of 1:00 pm (PST). (No need to subscribe.)

https://youtube.com/@st.roseoflimaparishportlan1318

Reception following in school cafeteria

You’re welcome to wear a baseball or soccer jersey to celebrate Carmelo’s love of both sports. (totally optional)