George Elton Nunes died doing what he loved, crabbing.
Last Thursday, Dec. 1, while untangling crab pots tossed around in high
winds off his pier at Chimney Rock, the Point Reyes dairyman and fisherman
died of an apparent heart attack. He was 68.
"Everybody loved that man," said Betty Nunes, his
wife of 47 years. "He liked people, he liked to have fun."
A large fellow with a wonderful laugh, "George was
like a big bear," said his aunt, Scotty Mendoza. She also remembered
her nephew as a toddler with buttercup-color curls and big blue eyes.
As an adult, Mr. Nunes stopped by the Mendoza ranch several times a
week, just to say hello.
A third-generation West Marin dairyman, together with
his wife and son, Mr. Nunes operated the Historic A Ranch, established
in 1919 by his grandfather, J.V. Mendoza. Also the owner of the Point
St. Joseph Fish Co., Mr. Nunes gave special care to cooking Dungeness
crabs. His crustaceans were popular with fish sellers and seafood connoisseurs
alike.
Distinguished by hard work
As a dairyman, beef cattleman and fisherman, hard
work defined Mr. Nunes' life. "He loved his cows," said Point Reyes
rancher Nicola Spaletta, describing her neighbor's daily routine of
checking each and every bovine in his large herd. In West Marin he was
a pioneer in the development of silage-making techniques, a need inspired
by difficulties in curing hay on the foggy, windy peninsula.
Born on Jan. 26, 1937, at Cottage Hospital in San
Rafael, to George P. Nunes and Teresa Mendoza Nunes, young George attended
the one-room schoolhouse built by his grandfather on the B Ranch. In
1955 he graduated from Tomales High School, after excelling as a lineman
on the football team. He next served a brief stint in the US Marines.
Mr. Nunes returned to the ranch to work with his father,
who died in 1959.
Met wife at cattle show
In 1958, in the chapel of the rectory at Sacred Heart
Catholic Church in Olema, he married Betty Leiss of Petaluma. The two
met as teenagers showing cattle at a fair.
An avid hunter and a fan of country and western music
performers including Merle Haggard and George Strait, Mr. Nunes had
a fine voice himself and was known to get up and belt out a twangy tune.
A photograph of Mr. Nunes holding triplet calves,
taken by Point Reyes Family Album photographer Art Rogers, appeared
in many publications and on notecards and drew attention to the rancher.
One woman from across the country, Betty Nunes recalled with a chuckle,
called him to say she liked his smile.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Nunes; son and daughter-in-law,
Tim and Laura Nunes; all of Point Reyes; daughter and son-in-law, Jackie
and Chris Hemelt of Santa Rosa; brother, Marvin Nunes of Windsor; sister,
Marlene Nunes of Santa Rosa; and three grandchildren.
Family members suggest that any memorial contributions
be made to local youth agricultural organizations; or to programs providing
services for developmentally disabled children and adults.