Keith Francis Naccarato
Keith Francis Naccarato, 70, passed away on June 3, 2018.
He was born Feb. 11, 1948, to his parents, Frank and Lucile Naccarato, at Newport Community Hospital in Newport, Wash. Keith joined two brothers, Jerry and Lee at the family home in Priest River, Idaho. Ray, Rita, Jyll, Curt and Lori came after. Keith lived his entire childhood in Priest River and attended school in Priest River from 1954 until 1966. It was at this school where Keith met his lifelong friends, John Low, Ernie Belwood, Terry Bombino, and Delbert Linton. These five were inseparable and they formed a bond that could not be broken and has lasted their entire lives.
Keith graduated from high school in June 1966 and was drafted into the United States Army on Feb. 15, 1967. He spent 10 months in training in Fort Carson, Colo., and St. Louis, Mo., before being deployed to Vietnam. During his service in Vietnam, Keith was a LRRP, which stands for Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. LRRP is a small, heavily armed reconnaissance team that patrols deep in enemy-held territory. There were 10 men in Keith’s unit. Keith never talked much about Vietnam, but he was very proud of the fact that all 10 men in his LRRP unit had returned home alive. These 10 men have kept in contact ever since they were discharged from the service and have had many reunions over the years. Keith received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Service Star, the Vietnam Campaign Medal with Device 60, and the Combat Infantry Mans Badge while in the service and was honorably discharged on Dec. 17, 1968. Keith returned home to Priest River. He then moved to Spokane, Wash., and began working at Caterpillar.
In the late-’70s, Keith moved to Chattory, Wash., to fulfill his lifelong dream of being a cowboy. Our mom told numerous stories about Keith as a child wearing out the arms of her sofa while riding them like a horse, while he was watching westerns on TV. In the early ’80s, Keith retired from Caterpillar and went to college in Montana to become a farrier (blacksmith).
On April 23, 1985, Keith’s son Antonio (T.C.) was born. The two became inseparable. Keith passed on his love of horses to T.C. and T.C. began competing in rodeos at age 3. Keith was with him at every competition and then Keith began team roping. Over the years the two of them have brought home hundreds of belt buckles, saddles and cash prizes. The two had already paid their entry fees to team rope together at World Series Team Roping in Las Vegas, Nev., in December of this year. Keith was very proud of this.
On Feb. 21, 2006, Keith’s granddaughter, Jolena was born. Keith and T.C. have passed on the love of horses and rodeoing to Jolena. She has been competing since she was 3 years old and has won many barrel races and is now beginning to team rope. It looks like she will be following in her dad’s and grandpa’s footsteps.
Keith is survived by his son, T.C.; his granddaughter, Jolena; his brothers, Jerry, Lee (Linda), Ray, and Curt (Teresa); his sisters, Rita, Jyll, and Lori (Mark); seven nieces, two nephews, eight grandnieces, 10 grandnephews, three great-grandnieces, and four great-grandnephews; his lifelong friends, Ernie Belwood, Terry Bombino, and Delbert Linton; and numerous friends and rodeo buddies.
Keith is preceded in death by his father, Frank; his mother, Lucile; his brother-in-law, Eddie; his niece, Tiki; his grandparents, Fred and Frances Lebert and Antonio and Carmella Naccarato; all of his aunts and uncles; several of his cousins; and his best friends, John Low and Darrel Sallee.
Keith’s funeral will beheld on July 7, 2018, at 1 p.m. at the old school house at the Italian Settlement, in Priest River. A luncheon will follow at Popeye’s on Main Street immediately after the funeral service. Sherman-Campbell Funeral home will be taking care of the arrangements. Everyone is welcome.
Our family would like to thank all of you for all of the heartfelt prayers and condolences. Your kindness during this extremely difficult time in our lives has been overwhelming. Our dad always said “say a prayer for those of us who have been left behind, ’cuz the ones that have gone before us are already safe.”