Venice faculty member Frank Nunez passed away December 14, 2024. 

Nunez worked at Venice from the 1970s until his retirement in 2023, in which he was a counselor, administrative dean, and assistant principal. 

Prior to Venice, he worked at Mark Twain Middle School as a science teacher, leading him to work for LAUSD for over 50 years, in which he was recognized by the district as one of the employees with the highest seniority along with awards from the Venice Alumni House recognizing his work. 

Community of Schools Coordinator Brian Bleser was the officiant at Nunez’s memorial service at the Venice High School Auditorium in which members of the Venice community met to honor Nunez’s legacy. 

When Bleser was a student at Venice, he had Nunez as a counselor at one point. When Bleser came to Venice as a teacher, Nunez was very helpful to him as a new teacher as well. 

“He knew everything around the campus,” Bleser said. “He knew every room, every closet, every storage space.” 

In his time at Venice, Nunez became known for his sense of humor and the word “no,” according to Bleser.

 “He never did become principal,” Bleser said. “When people would ask if he wanted to, he would say ‘no,’ which he was kind of famous for saying.” 

“Even though he’s saying no, most of the time, he ended up getting you what you needed,” Bleser said. 

Outside of Venice, Nunez was a private person. Despite “keeping to himself,” according to Bleser, Nunez loved animals, including his cat and bunny named Bumblebunny. 

Attendance office volunteer, Margarita Oku, worked with Nunez for many years, and said he would do “whatever needed to be done.”

“I know his famous word is ‘no’ but he would always take care of things,” Oku said. 

According to Oku, Nunez was a “great boss.”

Nunez worked on operations for many Venice events such as football games, plays, performances, and day-to-day operations. 

“He really took care of this campus,” said Oku.