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A new sign, featuring the traditional A&W brand colors was unveiled to formally name the downtown Livermore Transit Center entrance “Angie’s Way.” (Photo by Cierra Bailey) -
From left: Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez, LAVTA director of planning and marketing Tony McCaulay, Livermore Mayor Bob Woerner and Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown. (Photo by Cierra Bailey) -
Relatives wore matching T-shirts to honor Angie Navarro, who died last year. (Photo by Cierra Bailey) -
Angie Navarro was a carhop at the former A&W stand in Livermore for almost 25 years. (Photo by Cierra Bailey)
Local officials, residents and relatives of the late Angie Navarro gathered at the downtown Livermore Transit Center last week to honor her legacy as a beloved community figure.
For nearly 25 years, beginning in 1960, Navarro worked as a carhop at the former A&W Root Beer stand that once occupied the area that is now the transit center entrance. Navarro was well known by longtime residents who grew up in Livermore in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s for her friendliness and sense of humor.
“A lot of my friends knew her and all of my brothers’ and sisters’ friends also knew her and she would tease them,” said Rosie Caldera, Navarro’s eldest daughter.
Navarro died last year and as a tribute to her, the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) formally established her legacy as a part of Livermore’s history by designating the transit center entrance “Angie’s Way.”
LAVTA held a ceremony to unveil the new “Angie’s Way” sign and commemorative plaque on Nov. 12, which would have been Navarro’s 86th birthday.
“This is quite a historic event and the first of its kind,” said LAVTA Board of Directors chair and Pleasanton Mayor Karla Brown, who presided over the event.
About 100 people made their way to the transit center that afternoon for the ceremony, including Navarro’s five children, grandchildren and other extended relatives wearing matching T-shirts with a picture of a young Navarro in uniform working at A&W on the front and the words “Angie’s Way” emblazoned on the back.
“This is exquisite, it’s so wonderful,” Caldera said of the tribute to her mom. “When she passed away, we couldn’t have a funeral because of COVID but we always knew that she was well known and well loved,” she said.
Livermore native Terry Givens initially set the process for the tribute in motion by reaching out to the LAVTA board and requesting that they consider naming the driveway where buses enter and exit the transit center after Navarro.
“Angie, when you came in here, always had a smile on her face,” Givens said. “She had a pet name for you or she called you by your name and if you’re 16 or 17 and have a lady call you by your name, you know that you’re kind of special and that’s what she made you feel like here,” he added.
Livermore Mayor Bob Woerner also shared remarks during the event before joining Brown, Givens and Caldera in unveiling the new “Angie’s Way” sign.
Livermore Councilmember Bob Carling and Dublin Mayor Melissa Hernandez — who also serves on the LAVTA board — were also in attendance at the ceremony along with LAVTA’s director of planning and marketing Tony McCaulay.
After the sign was unveiled, LAVTA staff members distributed bottles of root beer to event attendees and souvenir mugs to Navarro’s family, provided by A&W’s corporate office.
