Obituary of Naphtalee Hollenbaugh

Naphtalee Ruby Hollenbaugh age 17 of Flager, Colorado passed away Thursday, August 11, 2011. She was born December 31, 1993 at Colorado Springs, Colorado the daughter of Tadd and Connie (Talbert) Hollenbaugh. Naphtalee was getting ready to start her senior year at Flagler High School in Flagler, Colorado. She played half a basketball season her freshman year for the Flagler Panthers, but due to a chronic illness she was unable to fulfill her potential on the court. She played softball for the Limon Badgers as a freshman and junior which was her love and passion. Naphtalee was on her way to pursue her college dreams of playing collegiate softball with the intentions on majoring in physical therapy. “Naphtalee had the heart of a champion and always worked very hard in practice and hustled on every drill and on every play in a game. She loved the game of softball and was very good playing the game she loved. What made Naphtalee such a complete player was her competitive fire inside of her. She expected herself to perform at her highest level all of the time and even when she was sick or fighting off an injury, she expected to perform. Naphtalee’s coaches, her family, and her teammates loved watching her compete by playing the game she loved!” (Quoted by her softball coach, Rocky Rockwell of the Limon Badgers) Naphtalee was first team all conference both years she played softball as a freshman and a junior. She was Honorable Mention All State as a freshman by the Rocky Mountain News. In the history of the Limon Badger softball program, she has some achievements that only come from hard work and dedication. Naphtalee’s on base percentage (.483) ranks her seventh all-time; her career batting average (.425) ranks her sixth all-time; and her slugging percentage (.604) ranks her seventh all-time. Naphtalee also enjoyed listening to music; she had a real talent for drawing; and she loved the outdoors, especially going to the lake with her family and friends. She had much love for her family and she was always helping her dad on various construction jobs just so she could be with him. Naphtalee loved her family and friends with passion and always worried more about how others were doing in their lives. She shared many special times with her friends and she taught everybody to appreciate in ways they would never have realized without her guidance and her caring heart. She will be greatly missed by the many, many friends she made wherever she went and by her family that she loved so much. Naphtalee’s spirit, her big heart, and her love will be expressed in everybody’s daily lives forever… Naphtalee lived by the moto Live, Laugh, Love! Naphtalee is survived by her loving parents, Tadd and Connie Hollenbaugh of Flagler, Colorado; her younger brother, Nathaniel Hollenbaugh of Flagler, Colorado; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her grandparents and two aunts.