Obituaries : * James Navrides; Union Representative

James Navrides of Newbury Park, a retired auto worker and union representative, died Sunday at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. He was 88.

Born in Greece, Navrides immigrated to this country as a little boy and often recounted his arrival via Ellis Island to his five children, said Marty Williams, one of his daughters.

He also loved baseball, Williams said. As a youngster Navrides hung around Yankee Stadium in New York. He was one of a group of boys that Babe Ruth would often take in to see the game, she said.

“Oh, he loved baseball,” Wilson said. “He could talk about baseball to anyone, any time.”

Navrides is survived by his wife of 62 years, Nettie Navrides, 86, of Newbury Park. The pair met in Detroit, where Navrides was working on a Chrysler assembly line. They moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s when he was transferred to another Chrysler plant. He worked there until it was closed 25 years ago, Williams said.

Along with his daughter, Marty Williams, Navrides is survived by a son, James Jr. of Las Vegas, another daughter, Claudia Pennington of Redding, and several grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday at Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.