Walter D. Navitsky Jr.

Walter Daniel Navitsky Jr. beloved father, son & brother passed away on July 15, 2021 from injuries suffered in a car accident in Butler Township.

Our Wally was born May 29, 1958 in Shenandoah Heights to Catherine & Walter D. Navitsky Sr. He was raised in Shenandoah & was a graduate of Shenandoah Valley High School, Class of 1976.

Wally was a talented athlete establishing an award winning career in high school. He was the captain of the Cross Country team & was a record setting short distance sprinter on the Track & Field team. 

His true passion was music. He picked up his first guitar at the age of five. Never had a music lesson yet mastered piano & drums along with the guitar. Wally played trombone with the Shenandoah Valley Marching Blue Devils for 6 years beginning in 7th grade. He wrote & composed his own songs & lyrics playing lead guitar & vocals for years with bands formed in Schuylkill County.

Wally thrived on attention & people naturally gravitated to him. He had a gift of gab, a love of debate & was wickedly quick witted. He would break glaciers with his smile & the most miserable ended up charmed.

Sadly Wally’s passion & quest for excitement touched off a decades-spanning cycle of addiction. After many close calls & interventions Wally entered a treatment program in 1992 at the place of his birth, the former Locust Mountain Hospital. Here he experienced “a laying on of hands” & emerged 30 days later clear-eyed & determined. At the age of 34 he enrolled as a full time college Freshman at Bloomsburg University. A regular on the Dean’s list, Wally completed his B.S. in Psychology in 3 years. His career as an Addiction Treatment Counselor took him from the Good Samaritan Hospital in Pottsville to The Wedge Recovery Centers in Philadelphia to a national position with FEMA. Wally was instrumental in establishing & manning mobile crisis counseling trailers in the aftermath of disasters. 

Wally made a valiant effort for sobriety. Recently he seemed to be the underdog in this fight but we all learned never to underestimate him or count him out. Sadly this story ended far too soon but Wally died with an optimistic outlook for his future.

Wally was predeceased by our parents & leaves behind son Curtis Daniel Navitsky 32, Missouri. Sisters Kathleen Long, Holly Tempest, Melissa Navitsky, Mimi McCarthy, nieces, nephews & godchildren.

Family and friends are invited to a memorial service on Thursday, July 29th from 6 to 8 pm at the Oravitz Home for Funerals Inc. 40 N. Jardin Street, Shenandoah. 

In lieu of flowers a contribution can be made in Wally’s memory to Another Day Clean Recovery Homes of Pottstown PA. Venmo Rachel Machen @Rachel-Carpenter-15

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