Local firefighters honor one of their own

The honor guard of Don Navarre's brother and sister firefighters stand at attention as the family follows the casket bearing his body into Westgate Chapel.
The honor guard of Don Navarre’s brother and sister firefighters stand at attention as the family follows the casket bearing his body into Westgate Chapel.
The motorcade leaves Beck's Funeral Home in downtown Edmonds for the chapel.
The motorcade leaves Beck’s Funeral Home in downtown Edmonds for the chapel.
Pallbearers from Fire District 1 carry the casket into the chapel.
Pallbearers from Fire District 1 carry the casket into the chapel.

Firefighters from Snohomish County Fire District 1 gathered in Edmonds on Tuesday morning to honor the late Capt. Don Navarre, a 23-year veteran firefighter who lost his nine-year battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma on Jan. 19. He was 57 years old.

Capt. Navarre was hired in 1990 as a full-time firefighter with the Mountlake Terrace Fire Department after serving five years as a volunteer firefighter in Kirkland. In 2001, the same year the Mountlake Terrace Fire Department consolidated operations with Snohomish County Fire District 1, he was promoted to captain.

As his cancer began to take its toll, Capt. Navarre took on a new assignment in the Fire Prevention Division, where he applied the same dedication and devotion to community service he displayed as a firefighter, paramedic and station officer. Last year, in recognition of his outstanding work in fire inspection, investigation and public education, he was honored by the City of Mountlake Terrace as recipient of their Above and Beyond Inspiration Award.

Don Navarre
Capt. Don Navarre (Fire District 1 photo)

A graduate of Interlake High School and the University of Puget Sound, Capt. Navarre was a long-time resident of Kirkland and Bellevue. He is survived by his wife, Janet; daughters Andrea, Dani, Jesi and Jacki; his mother, Virginia Navarre; and siblings Reneé, Steve, Shelly, Mari and Nick.

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel

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