Richard Navari excelled at many things, but not at being bored. From photographing Soviet submarines to roller skating, he mastered skills and then looked for new challenges.

That urge to try new things led him on a career path from photographer to hairdresser to steel worker -- and sometimes to feats of daring such as jumping from his roof into the family's backyard swimming pool, said his son, Bill Navari.

Mr. Navari of Penn Hills died of cancer Saturday. He was 70.

Born in Coco Beach, Fla., Mr. Navari "never got the Florida out of him," even after the family moved to Pittsburgh, where his uncles owned several roller rinks, his son said. He always loved swimming and diving and looked for adventure.

That restlessness was coupled with an IQ of 165, and Mr. Navari chafed at Peabody High School. There, "they couldn't keep up with him, they couldn't find enough things to teach him," his son said, and the school's principal ultimately urged him to join the military and see the world.

Mr. Navari joined the Navy in 1955 at the age of 17. The Navy taught him photography and sent him off to southeast Asia aboard the USS Salisbury Sound to spot and photograph Soviet submarines in the days before satellite reconnaissance.

In those days, subs had to surface periodically to take on fresh air, but made every effort to stay low in the water to keep their identification numbers out of sight, according to Bill Navari, of Penn Hills. His father, though, had a knack for timing his photographs just right, taking advantage of an ocean swell or dip, and catching the numbers anyway. He earned numerous commendations, which his family discovered as they explored his boxes of memorabilia and photographs.

When he got bored, Mr. Navari said he and his shipmates sometimes would amuse themselves by swinging the ship's crane out over the ocean and seeing who could dive the farthest into the ocean. At other times, they would hunt sea turtles to cook into turtle soup.

After his discharge in 1959, Mr. Navari settled in New York City, where he worked as a photographer for Universal Press Syndicate and then at the Copacabana nightclub and The Metropolitan Opera.

"He said he got to see all the great operas at the Met, and didn't have to pay for one of them," his son said.

Mr. Navari then studied cosmetology and said he worked as a hairdresser for many stars -- including Brenda Lee -- before their performances in New York and Pittsburgh in the early 1960s.

By the mid-1960s, however, Mr. Navari and his wife, Irene, were raising three children -- they ultimately would raise four sons and a daughter -- in Penn Hills. Mr. Navari, in search of higher pay, took what he thought was a more stable job as a crane operator at U.S. Steel's Rankin Works.

Laid off in the 1970s, he took a job as a postal worker and delivered mail until his retirement five years ago.

Through the years, Mr. Navari stayed closely involved in his children's lives, helping develop the Penn Hills Baseball Association and serving as a Cubmaster and Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America. He also involved his children in family projects such as installing a redwood deck and the backyard pool.

"He always did look out for us," said Bill Navari. "He was never a man of means, but he had a knack of always making sure we had what we needed."

In addition to his son and wife of 49 years, Mr. Navari is survived by his four other children, Richard V. Jr. of Plum, John of Penn Township, Stephen of Penn Hills and Renee of Plum; and 13 grandchildren. He also is survived by sisters Eleanora Donofrio of Highland Park, Victoria Quinn of Lancaster, Ruth Smith of Naperville, Ill., Cornelia Navari of Aurora, Ill., and Olivia Readshaw of Gibsonia; and a brother, Alfred Navari of Shaler.

Visitation will be tomorrow and Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Soxman Funeral Home, 7450 Saltsburg Road, Penn Hills. A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Bartholomew Church, Penn Hills. Burial will be in Plum Creek Cemetery.