Stephen John Nuwer, age 33, passed away on January 8, 2021. Stephen is survived by his parents, Beverly and Marc, siblings Jamie (Renée), Charles (Samantha), Catherine, nephew Charles, niece Elyse, and close family friend Letty Garcia. He is survived by many beloved uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends. He is preceded in death by his grandparents (Donald and Arlene Nuwer, and Harold and JoAnn Jones) as well as his aunt Janice Carl, uncle Jeff Stievater, and cousin Pete Konstantinides.
Stephen, known as Steve by family and friends, grew up in Pacific Palisades. He had a very creative spirit and a natural flair for the arts; in his youth, he acted in several Theater Palisades productions (including co-starring in Oklahoma! as Jud Fry). As an adult, he worked on set as a grip and a gaffer. His hobbies included writing and editing scripts, and photographing friends and family. Steve also loved learning to master technical arts and studied lighting techniques for sets and photography. He was a true cinephile at heart, and often spent hours discussing his favorite movies like Gladiator and Almost Famous. He also had a great appreciation for fashion and music, and loved going to concerts with friends and family.
Steve enjoyed being part of the Boy Scout program, in which he earned an Eagle Scout rank. He was particularly excited about going on outdoor adventures in the Sierra mountain ranges and on a river rafting trip in Idaho. One of his favorite things to do over the summer break was going to Sequoia National Park with his family. As a child, he played on fallen giant Sequoia trees with his siblings, often climbing 30 feet to get on top of the enormous trees. While there, Steve also loved feeding peanuts to the blue jays on the cabin deck and seeing bear cubs and marmots on hikes through the woods. When he has only 12, he climbed 11,200 feet to Alta Peak with his family.
We remember how much Steve enjoyed his family vacations to the Nuwer family cottage in Silver Bay, Ontario. There he played with his relatives, swimming and pretending to be king of the raft in Lake Erie, making s’mores and telling stories at bonfires, and stealing bases in wiffle ball. He also loved spending time at Granny’s house in Pasadena, where he bonded with his cousins, playing squirt gun wars and Marco Polo in the pool for hours. As a kid with a vivid imagination, he often played in fantasy worlds that he created, whether it was pretending to be pirates on a favorite fallen Sequoia tree, or imagining himself as his favorite superheroes, Superman and Batman.
He loved to travel and lived in many different places, including Hollywood, Biloxi, Utah, New Mexico, Jacksonville, and Sacramento. Steve especially enjoyed his trip to Hawaii with his Dad and going on Disneyland trips with his mom. As a truly adventurous spirit, he also took up the hobby of racing his BMW around a track. He was also an experienced runner, and participated in the LA marathon in 2015, completing 26.2 miles around the city. Steve bonded with his best friend Hassan over working in film, and the two became like brothers, spending much of their time together writing and editing each other’s scripts. Together they volunteered for social causes like feeding the homeless in downtown LA.
Steve had a loving, sensitive, and sweet soul; he cared deeply about others, and was very loyal and protective of his family and friends. He could tell stories for hours, and loved having deep conversations and connecting with others. We’ll remember him by his contagious laugh and how he found a sense of humor in everything. Although he faced many obstacles and challenges in his life, he had a sense of bravery and courage that inspired the people around him. We will miss him dearly and wish him peace. Thank you to all of you who touched his life.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are only able to host a small private service limited to immediate family at this time. We will upload a video of the service to share with everyone. If you would like to honor Steve with a donation, you can donate to Feed The Streets, a non-profit organization that Steve volunteered with and that was an important cause for him. Feed The Streets uses its resources to collect donated food, hygiene, educational items and clothing to give to Los Angeles communities in need. You can find out more about how they serve the LA community on their Instagram page, @feedthestreets_la. For donations, please send them via Venmo to @ftsla or send checks to 3599 Wesley St., Culver City, CA 90232 (please make checks out to Feed Our Streets).
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