As mourners approached Casey Navarro’s family at his Apr. 15 viewing, they struggled to find the right words. Even in their grief, mother Carol, father Len and sister Ashley tried to make it easy for everyone by politely telling them “There’s nothing you can really say.”
At that moment, there was not.
What can anyone say about the tragic motorcycle accident that ended Casey’s life at age 23? Who can make sense of why this would happen? Trying to find words when there aren’t any made it fruitless.
But when it comes to talking about Casey Navarro’s life, there is plenty to say.
And all of it’s good.
Talk to those who knew him either as a Steinert/Hamilton Post 31 baseball pitcher, as a student or just as a person, the theme was constant – he loved to have fun, he loved people and people loved him.
Here are some examples:
Amanda Ruch, team photographer and Navarro’s Algebra 2 teacher as a junior: “From the moment I met Casey, I could tell he was a fun-loving, lighthearted kid. In the year I had him as a student, and the years spent with him in the dugout, he always had a smile on his face and could effortlessly find a way to brighten someone’s day.”
Rick Freeman, Steinert pitching coach/Hamilton Post 31 head coach and former coach of both Len and Casey: “He was a great kid. Very popular with his teammates. Loose, outgoing, always in a good mood. People liked him and gravitated toward him. On the mound he competed every day in his bullpens, his games. He was a competitor and that’s the best thing I could say about anybody, is that they competed.”
Josh Lyons, lifelong friend and baseball teammate: “He was a lively, fun-loving, enjoyable guy to be around. He never took things to heart, he was always there for somebody to support them. He had that smiling face whenever you needed it. He was kind of like a light for people in a lot of ways at all times in his life.”
Mike Hastings, Steinert baseball coach: “He was an energetic kid. He had a life to him; always had a smile on his face. A fun-loving kid. Guys rallied around him. He was tough on himself, he wanted to be perfect. That’s why at the viewing, every teammate he had was there. He meant so much to his teammates.”
Brian Giallella, Steinert head coach: “He was a little bit of a carefree kid. He enjoyed life, but on the field was a competitor. He cared greatly about his teammates and about the game of baseball. He was always a likeable kid.”
Steve Harris, former Notre Dame classmate of Len Navarro and youth coach of Casey: “Lenny was a stud in baseball, he’s a great guy and great coach. We coached together when our boys were nine for Nottingham Little League and also coached together when they were 13. Casey was a great athlete like his parents. He was fun in the dugout. Casey always had a smile on his face. A distinguished one.”
Rich Giallella, Post 31 coach: “He was a happy-go-lucky kid. Always a smile on his face and he enjoyed being out there with the kids. He grew up playing baseball and enjoyed playing the game and competing. This hits the whole community. Knowing his whole family like I do, it’s just so sad to see a young kid who could contribute to our society leave us so early.”
The Navarro family, as taken from his obituary: “To know Casey was to love him. He had the kind of presence that could instantly light up a room, with a contagious laugh and the most genuine, goofy smile. Whether he was cracking a joke, lending a helping hand, or simply waving at you from his car window with that signature grin, Casey had a way of making people feel seen, appreciated, and loved.”
It was pretty much unamimous. Great guy, happy guy, serious guy when he had to be.
Navarro played for Nottingham Little League and Babe Ruth, the Hamilton A’s, Steinert and Post 31. He was named the Spartans Pitcher of the Year in 2019 and went on to earn an Associate’s Degree at Mercer County Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree at The College of New Jersey.
Asked what made him so popular, Brian Giallella said: “A smile and a good heart. He just cared about being out there. You could see that through his actions.”
Ruch noticed it right away when photographing Post 31 games.
“It was the summer after his sophomore year, and even though he was one of the younger guys on the team, he was always the first one to greet his teammates on their way in from the field, or to be up at the fence cheering his team on.”
Casey was more than just baseball, of course.
He and Meghan Fowler, his girlfriend of four years, would snowboard, hike, fish and just enjoy the sunsets at Assunpink Creek. He also had countless fun times with his buddies.
“I have a video of him crushing a Red Bull in like, a second, and running out to the mound,” Lyons said with a laugh. “He’s always an entertainer, always trying to make people feel great. He’d go rope swinging and try to do flips off the rope swing. He was always trying to push it and have fun and enjoy himself, and he wanted everybody around him to feel good and have fun.”
That attitude was also prevalent in the classroom, where Navarro even had ways of turning a teacher’s bad day into a good one.
“A distinct memory I have was on a day when I was in a bad mood and not my typical self, Casey asked me what my favorite song was,” Ruch recalled. “I thought he was just trying to distract me from teaching algebra. He then proceeded to blast the song at full volume and have his classmates sing along until I was grinning from ear to ear.
“He would continue to do that for the rest of the year whenever I was having a bad day. In the years that have followed, whenever a student would ask me my favorite song, I would tell them about Casey.”
With that being said, Navarro was not just all-play and no-work. When it was time to buckle down, he did so.
“It’s not that Casey couldn’t be focused and determined when he wanted to be,” Ruch added. “He ended up doing very well in my class, and in everything he put his mind to.”
It was the same way on the baseball diamond, much to the amazement of his teammates.
“He could turn it on, it was like a switch with him,” Lyons said. “I remember we’d sit in the bullpen before a game he was pitching, and he’s smiling, cracking jokes half the time and we’re like ‘This guy’s gonna go out there and start the game for us?’’ But he’d always lock it in.”
And when it came to baseball, he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“When Casey and my son Brett were 10 they both were cut from the All-Star team after playing on it the previous years,” Harris said. “When Casey was 12 he wanted to try out for the team and made it, and he hit a three-run homer to win a game. The important thing is that Casey never gave up.”
That fierce desire was no surprise, since he came from a family of great athletes. His dad was one of the CVC’s top pitchers for Notre Dame. His mom and his uncle, Todd Kokotajlo, are both Steinert Hall of Fame inductees and his sister was a Spartans track & field standout.
“I coached Lenny at Mercer,” Freeman said. “He and Casey were both strike throwers and had good change-ups and good breaking balls. Mentally they were tough as nails. I also saw Carol at Mercer when she was playing softball (and making All-American). She was a tremendous pitcher and all that combined to make Casey who he was.
“Lenny was quiet, Carol was outgoing. I guess he had more of Carol’s side. I don’t think he met anybody he couldn’t become friends with.”
Lyons was proud to call him a friend. The two got close in kindergarten and stayed that way. They played ball together, worked at Stewart’s Root Beer together in high school and remained buddies after graduating from Steinert.
Like everyone else, the news hit Lyons hard when he heard it.
“You read what happened and you freeze,” he said. “I remember just sitting at my counter for 35 minutes unable to process what happened because you think so fondly of him smiling and laughing.
“Nothing can prepare you for something like that. I know it comes for all of us in the end but to be as young as we all are, you never expect something like that. It really rocks your world. And then you think about it and you’ve gotta come to terms with, ‘Oh my God, there’s just nothing anymore.”
Ah, but there is. The memories will always be there.
They will not fill the void, of course. But they will bring a smile to the faces of all who knew him.
So rest in peace Casey, and thanks for making everyone’s life a little better and a little happier during your time here.
