By Jennifer Wang
With deepest sorrow and love, I want to let you know that my beloved husband, Alfred Navarro, went to rest in peace on Feb. 9, 2024, at Stanford Hospital after battling heart-related health issues for over two years. Alfred was 77 years old. He lived in Scotts Valley.
Alfred was a handsome gentleman who achieved many things in life. After earning his master’s degree from the University of Southern California, he taught himself computers during the early 1980s Alfred became a marketing veteran within the computer industry. He helped Novell’s early growth by developing and leading a more than 100-person marketing and distributing organization in the East Coast from the start by himself. Alfred also helped the growth of Sun Microsystems, and two other high-tech startups. He made a prototype of a smartphone before smartphones became popular. Later in his life, he was very interested in AI and its applications.
A lover of sports, Alfred was a wrestling champion at Tracy High School. His remarkable wrestling skills won him the All-American status when he attended Fresno State. Alfred also loved architecture, landscaping, and home improvement. He had a love for classical music, he played the oboe, and enjoyed many concerts.
Alfred cared about society. He came to the Central Coast as a young man. From 1968 through 1976, he was the executive director of Central Coast Counties Development Corp., a nonprofit economic and community development corporation operating in the tri-county area. As founding board members of this organization, Manny and Alice Santana saw in Alfred a visionary with great energy, ideas, and a commitment to social change.
Alfred provided technical assistance and resources to the then newly established Cooperativa Campesina, a strawberry cooperative comprising 30 families — all formerly farmworkers. The success of that venture led to the purchase of a 100-acre farm in the Salinas Valley dedicated to teaching low-income families and individuals how to farm independently.
The farmland that CCCDC purchased in Salinas all those years ago is today the home of Agricultural and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA). That nonprofit organization carries on the work of educating tri-county residents with limited-resources in business, agronomy, and hands-on skills as independent farmers. Alfred promoted equality and humanity; he supported programs that nurtured society.
Alfred’s strong, intelligent, and caring soul is greatly appreciated by those who loved him. His life will be celebrated, and he will be forever in our hearts!
Alfred is survived by his sons, Aaron Navarro, Abraham Navarro, Manuel Navarro; his brother Robert Navarro; and myself, his wife Jennifer Wang.