Westmoor High School Class of 1969

Dirke Lyman asked that I pass along the sad news that our classmate, Ben Tetzner, recently passed away in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 74. Ben and Dirke were good friends. Ben was a professional mechanic, a drummer in the jazz band at Skyline College and a world-class marine biologist/photographer. Dirke is looking for a couple of CDs with astonishing underwater photos to post for everyone to admire. Dirke recently became Facebook friends with Ben’s brother Alfred (“Fred”) and will see him soon, possibly bringing back more interesting tidbits to share about Ben.

Ben’s obituary, provided by Ben’s sister Brigitte Walsh via Doris, is as follows:

Hi Doris: Following is the obituary for my brother. I published it on facebook as that’s where almost all his friends could be contacted. It still doesn’t seem real as we went for a drive the Saturday before his death and he asked to be taken home to go to bed. Six days later, he was gone! Take care.

TETZNER, Bernd (Ben) – Born May 17, 1951, passed away peacefully on August 8, 2025, following a courageous 4-year struggle with Parkinson’s Disease. His sister, and brother-in-law, Brigitte and Jay Walsh, comforted him in his last hours, together with the loving caregivers of Suncrest Hospice and The Oaks Memory Care staff. His grandsons, David Walsh, and Matt (and wife Adri), were with him in spirit. His many friends from the Alameda Divers’ Club, Northern California Underwater Photographic Society and California Sport Divers sent loving wishes during his last few days. Ben was born in Goslar, Germany and was raised in Sarnia, Ontario and San Francisco, California. Ben earned his degree in Marine Biology from San Francisco State College and trained as an auto mechanic, becoming a Master Mechanic at Boardwalk VW. He loved his dive club friends and treasured his 3 cats, Black Cat, Brown Kittie and Fat Black Cat! As an avid scuba diver, Ben traveled the world photographing marine life. Jacques Cousteau, the famous oceanographer, invited Ben to sail on the Calypso with him. Ben was respected by his parents, family, friends, fellow divers and photographers, as well as fellow mechanics. He had a sharp wit and told many an entertaining story about his travels. He will be deeply missed by all who had the honor of knowing him!