In Memoriam: Doyce B. Nunis, Jr.

Historian Doyce Blackman Nunis, Jr., distinguished teacher, author, editor and beloved dean of the southern California community of scholars has died. He was 86 years of age. He had been in failing health for the past year and died January 22 of complications following abdominal surgery.

Professor Nunis began his lifetime of service as a teacher at El Camino College where he quickly attained tenure. He was then offered the post of field historian at UCLA, assigned to locate and acquire manuscripts and papers and to create a program in oral history. He subsequently accepted a professorship at USC where he continued teaching history and heading the department for the rest of his academic career. He was the recipient of USC’s Award for Teaching Excellence, the Rubenheimer Distinguished Faculty Award and Mortar Board’s Outstanding Professor Award. More recently he was given USC’s Distinguished Emeriti Award.

He was a passionate advocate of original research, setting an example for his students in using primary documents such as personal letters, journals and public records to construct an understanding of the past. He pursued his research through the nation’s libraries and collections, going to St. Louis for the materials relating to the fur trade and to Baltimore for early railroad papers. As a Guggenheim Fellow in 1964 he searched in London through documents of the Hudson’s Bay Company and, with the assistance of fellow teacher and life-long companion, E. Peter Mauk, Jr., went on to search the files of the London Public Records Office, the archives of the House of Lords and the papers at the House of Commons. He drew upon these materials to write his first book, Andrew Sublette, Rocky Mountain Prince, 1808–1835. In all he authored more than seventy articles and wrote or edited over forty books.

His subjects ranged from the history of the frontier west to the history of science and medicine to American political thought. He was fond of the art and architecture of the European Renaissance and traveled widely to appreciate it first hand. He was devoted to the opera, chamber music and the symphony, giving substantial support to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

Doyce had a special fondness for working with the collections of the Huntington Library and in turn brought to the staff’s attention many newly-discovered documents, such as the papers of Los Angeles pioneer, Benjamin D. Wilson. He was given the archive by Wilson’s granddaughter, Miss Anne Wilson Patton, sister of General George S. Patton. Recognizing the value of the collection Doyce requested that the gift go to the Huntington Library where it would be available to future generations of scholars.

Professor Nunis supported the Historical Society of Southern California for decades, serving as editor of the society’s scholarly publication, Southern California Quarterly, for 43 years. He was founding chair of the Santa Barbara Mission Archives and of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles at San Fernando Mission. His service in the preservation of the archives was recognized by His Holiness Pope John Paul II with the order of Knight Commander of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory.

He was a committed student and interpreter of the documents relating to the Spanish colonial era in the southwest, editing a bi-lingual reference book, The Founding of Los Angeles: A Bilingual Edition, for publication by the Historical Society of Southern California.

For this work and an earlier anthology titled, Southern California’s Spanish Heritage, King Juan Carlos II of Spain bestowed on him the Orden de Isabel la Católica.

Professor Nunis was an officer of the rare book collector’s organization, the Zamorano Club, of the Westerners’ Los Angeles Corral, and of the Historical Society of Southern California.

In a recent interview Professor Nunis said, “I have found historical research to be an unending chain of questions with one link drawing you on to the next. It is a grand pursuit.”

A Memorial service will be held at the Chapel of Saint Vibiana in the Cathedral of Our Lady Of Los Angeles on Friday, February 18, 2011. The service will begin at 1:30. All are welcome.

Patricia Adler-Ingram, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Historical Society of Southern California