Alfred Nunez

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dad, Alfred C. Nunez, of Tracy, California. Alfred was born on November 16, 1936 in La Union, New Mexico, and passed away at home in Tracy, California on November 8, just shy of his 89th birthday.
Alfred grew up in a large family of six brothers and four sisters (he being the 7th of 10 children) which originated from the Southwest of Texas and was part of the Hispanic migrant culture from Texas to California. He was preceded in death by his parents Augustine Nunez and Julia Contreras, as well as his older siblings Louie Jacquez, Sally Miller, Julio Nunez, and Fred Nunez. He is survived by five remaining siblings: Luciano Nunez, Alice Martinez, Eva Renteria, Bob Nunez and Grace Horne.
Alfred is also survived by his son, Ken Nunez and daughter, Deanna Nunez, and his four granddaughters: Yolanda Magana, Alyssa Silva, Stevie Nunez and Alex Harper, as well as several great-grandchildren. He was also fortunate to get to know and admire his surviving step-grandchildren: Chris Blount, Michael Blount, Lisa Weaver, and Ben Blount.
By 1940, Alfred’s family settled into the agricultural center of the greater San Joaquin Valley of Tulare, California, where he attended public school and graduated from Tulare Union High School (TUHS) in 1956. He excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. While small in stature, he was fast, quick, and technically proficient in all skills. As a sports enthusiast, one of his fondest memories was closely watching local Gold-Medalist Olympian Bob Mathias train for both his Olympics at TUHS.
After graduation, and marriage to his high school sweetheart Louisa Lopez, he had moved to Morgan Hill, California to begin a long career working on golf courses as a Greenskeeper. Unfortunately, his first marriage lasted only a decade. A second marriage in the 1980s, with some hopeful risk-taking, lasted about another decade.
Nevertheless, in the ensuing decades regarding his career, Alfred’s skill and knowledge for golf course maintenance grew tremendously as he maintained courses in Morgan Hill, Newark, San Ramon, and in Livermore (at Las Positas and Springtown). The knowledge of his love and acumen for the craft became so widespread in the East Bay that the developers of Blackhawk Country Club recruited him to assist in developing the premiere private Golf Course Country Club in the late 1970s within the rolling hills below Mt. Diablo, near Danville, Ca. Within a few years, once the Blackhawk courses were well established, Alfred was recruited to develop and establish the neighboring public golf course, Canyon Lakes, in San Ramon. He worked there until his retirement in the late 1990s.
Due to both his career of maintaining golf courses, as well as his athletic abilities, Alfred became a proficient scratch golfer. It was not uncommon for the resident golf pros to invite him into their late afternoon groupings. Additionally, he typically had the privilege of meeting several professional bay area athletes, from the Football, Baseball, and Basketball franchises, who would frequent the Blackhawk and Canyon Lakes courses. Naturally, there were some famous pro golfers he had the opportunity to speak with… like Lee Trevino, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Gary Player, and Fuzzy Zoeller to name a few.
And speaking of professional Football personalities, his favorite - due to Alfred’s status as a super Raider fan - was John Madden. According to Ken’s favorite memory of his dad’s association with John Madden is the following: When Ken was playing football at Livermore High School, as a Senior during the fall of 1975, one of John’s sons played for Amador… and, being a faithful father, John would attend his son’s football games. Well, it just so happened during one Livermore/Amador game, as Ken happened to look up in the stands for his dad, low and behold, standing up on the top bleacher was the 6’4” John Madden, towering over his 5’5” dad, as the two of them were obviously enjoying the analysis of the Friday night football game. Over the next couple of Livermore/Amador games, Alfred was able to join John in the stands to watch and analyze the games of John’s sons together. And because both preferred to watch and stand from the top bleacher, the visual sight of the two of them together was a memory worth keeping… and mentioning.
Alfred’s love of sports was shared with his children. Ken remembers throughout the 1960’s accompanying his dad to the “San Francisco” Warriors basketball games to watch Nate Thurmond, Alvin Attles, and Rick Barry, as well as the San Francisco Giants to watch Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. Then there were the many Oakland A’s baseball games that were easy to get to during the season to watch Reggie Jackson and Bert Campaneris (his baseball doppelganger). And, of course, there was the Oakland Raiders… where going to games every season was a must until Ken graduated from high school in 1976. Back then, Alfred and Ken were able to meet many of the Raider greats.
When the family moved to Livermore in 1965, Alfred got heavily involved with the Livermore Softball Association. He played actively in the league, where games were played at the Rec Center. He was a natural second baseman and leadoff hitter. By the early 1970’s, he transitioned from player to coach. Alfred helmed some of the most talented players from both Livermore and Granada High School in the Softball league. His teams won several Championships and Tournaments throughout northern California. His coaching days ended by the late 1980’s… as golfing took up more of his spare time. And, yet, throughout much of his time in Livermore, Alfred also was heavily supporting various recreational Basketball leagues as a committed and competent referee. Needless to say, just about everyone and anyone in Livermore, associated with any local Softball or Basketball league, knew of Alfred’s passion for the games. Even his daughter Deanna became a well known phenom for her fastpitch softball skills and power hitting ability when the world of young girl’s softball became a more noticeable sport in the area. Alfred was most proud of his daughter’s natural ability - especially when opposing coaches and players couldn’t stop talking about her raw talent and skill.
On a more private note, Alfred had a personal passion for crooning… in the form and style of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. He loved to hear the standards, and it was common to hear him croon away with the likes of Nat King Cole or Johnny Mathis or Engelbert Humperdinck, or from groups like the Platters or the Drifters. He seemed to enjoy hearing himself sing… and he wasn’t half bad. In addition, Alfred loved to read a variety of fiction, as he found it relaxing and engaging.
By the late 1990’s, Alfred moved to Tracy. After retirement, he continued being involved in working with the local youth. He worked for several years at Monte Vista Middle school as a yard duty teacher, and as a basketball referee for school games. Unfortunately, his health was beset by a series of mini strokes over the past twenty years, which limited his ability to be as physically active as he wanted. Nevertheless, he enjoyed minor gardening and hosting family gatherings with his siblings, and always enjoyed the Halloween season which allowed him to decorate the front yard in ways that brought joy to the neighborhood children. And, fortunately, he was also able to find comfort in, and enjoy the constant companionship of, his dear friend, Peggy.
Our dad was a kind and gentle soul. While he never had much of life’s luxuries by way of property or possessions, he was blessed with family and friends who loved his company, which was imbued by his unique and special compassionate spirit. We find comfort in the knowledge of his rest in eternal peace… and we will dearly miss him.

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