Arthur "Art" Napoles

1938 - 2020

Arthur "Art" Napoles

On Friday, September 5th, 2020, Arthur "Art" Napoles, loving husband and proud father of three daughters, passed away peacefully at the age of 82. Art was born on April 15, 1938 in El Paso, TX to Arturo and Maria Luisa Napoles, who preceded him in death.

Art graduated from Austin High School in El Paso, TX where he first learned to play tennis from a science teacher who had never played the game, simply read instructions from a book. Despite these rudimentary lessons, Art became an excellent player and went on to win many championships in singles and doubles. He went on to play varsity tennis for Texas Western (Now University of Texas, El Paso), where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering, the first person in his family to earn a college degree.

After graduation, Art entered the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lt. and served three years, first as a nuclear weapons officer and then as a 1st Lt. in ordinance, which took him to the San Francisco Bay Area where he earned an MBA from Santa Clara University. It was in Silicon Valley that he met and married Patricia Brenner and raised his family. Upon leaving the service, Art joined the burgeoning satellite industry, first with Lockheed Missiles and Space and then Philco/Ford, which became Ford Aerospace, later sold to Loral as the leading contractor for commercial satellites. With the exception of a two-year stint in the late '80's as Corporate Dir. of Ethics in Newport Beach, Art worked in Palo Alto, specializing in contracts, subcontracts, and director of the NATO III satellite program, eventually traveling from Australia and Japan to Europe, China, Ukraine and Kazakhstan as head of launch services.

Art was a loyal and ardent sports fan of Bay Area teams, with season tickets to Stanford football and basketball games, and cheered the Warriors, Giants and 49'ers from the stands or from his family room. He retired in 2002, and added golf, pickleball, and bocce to his pastimes when he and Pat moved to Indio, CA in 2005. But tennis was the game he loved, playing for over 50 years, filling his home with trophies earned at Kona Kai Swim and Racquet Club in Santa Clara, Irvine Tennis Club, and Sun City Shadow Hills in Indio. His many friends will remember their annual trips to Yosemite, New Year's weekends at Pajaro Dunes near Watsonville, and 25 years sharing an ocean front home in Las Gaviotas, Baja, BC, with dear friends Jerry and Charlene Porras and Jim and Beverly Nelson.

Family was central to Art's life, and he will be deeply missed by Pat, his wife of 56 years, and daughters Marisa Sladek (Ed) of Jonestown, TX, Leslie Napoles of Portland, and Cari Napoles (Brad deCaussin) of Davenport, CA; younger siblings Nora Smith (Gordon) of Indio, and Dr. Robert Napoles of San Rafael, CA. He was preceded in death by his sister Letitia "Tish" Williams (Dell), of Half Moon Bay, CA.; and leaves grandchildren Kimberly and Patrick Sladek, Gus deWitt, and Ondine deCaussin, as well as many nieces.

Though suffering for years from Parkinson's Dementia, Art's loss of mobility and memory never robbed him of the kindness and grace that earned him so many friends. He entered Campbell's Loving Care Home in Rancho Mirage, where he died less than three weeks later, exactly as he wished — peacefully and with dignity, the last rites performed by Msgr. Lincoln of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and with his wife and daughters around him or via Facetime. Special thanks go to Always Best Care, the caring staff at Campbell's, and Dignity Hospice of the Desert. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there is no funeral planned at this time. He will be remembered with a memorial service in the Bay Area in the spring of 2021.