Mr. Tanner was my AP English teacher in my senior year at Cubberley High School. He was by far the best English teacher I ever had and one of three exceptional teachers I had that year, two at Cubberley plus my piano teacher. I can see now how very fortunate I was in my teachers that year. My home life was often very painful - my father was abusive, especially that year, but those three teachers were so respectful while gifting me with plenty of challenges. Mr. Tanner never knew my personal problems. He pointed out my cliches, and praised me enthusiastically when I wrote something he liked. I still remember how thrilled I felt when he read aloud to the class a couple of my efforts: a Haiku poem and an essay on “The symbolism of birds in A Passage to India.” Little did he know how important it was to me to be treated so respectfully and even to receive heartfelt praise from a man in authority whom I greatly admired. Blessings upon you, Mr. Tanner!

Mr. Tanner was the teacher who had the greatest impact upon my life of all my teachers from grade school through university. His thorough commentary on my writing helped me to grow immensely as a writer, and his sympathetic understanding regarding my personal issues blessed me in a way I can never forget. He believed in me because he could see the potential that was lurking underneath my shy and awkward behavior. I hope that he is holding classes in heaven, as his talent in teaching and inspiring others should go on forever. God bless you, Barney Tanner.

Mr. Tanner improved my writing. I was in his 9th grade English at Cubberley in 1977-78. My own daughter is now in 9th grade English. I'm sad that she has only a couple of writing assignments in the whole year, and even they are returned with a grade but no comments. So, thank you, Mr. Tanner, for teaching me to think about every phrase and how it could be rephrased for vigor or emphasis.

Mr. Tanner taught me to write short sentences; he must have gotten tired of writing "run on". He also gave me my most memorable grade, A+/D-. He said that it should have been an F, but he could tell that I understood Dickens' jokes. He told me that I should take a summer class in English, before I got to college. The teacher was no Mr. Tanner; I had to get help writing my Ph.D. thesis. He was so generous that he came to my wedding. He said he hoped the groom deserved me! I treasure the year I spent in his class.

Mr. Tanner taught me to write short sentences; he must have gotten tired of writing "run on". He also gave me my most memorable grade, A+/D-. He said that it should have been an F, but he could tell that I understood Dickens' jokes. He told me that I should take a summer class in English, before I got to college. The teacher was no Mr. Tanner; I had to get help writing my Ph.D. thesis. He was so generous that he came to my wedding. He said he hoped the groom deserved me! I treasure the year I spent in his class.

I just came across this news, and I am really stunned--and saddened. Mr. Tanner (yes, I agree, none of us would dare call him "Barney") was my English teacher in my senior year in '69. And I can honestly say that no other teacher (K-12, college, grad school, any level) impacted my life so deeply. In my first week, he took an essay I wrote and typed up a 3-page single-spaced critique ripping every bit of it to pieces. But I was more than outraged... I was amazed that anyone cared so much to read so closely every single word I had written. Thereafter, I struggled to take that class seriously and in fact went on to make a career out of writing. In the mid-'70s, I recall revisiting Palo Alto and showing him an essay I had published on Fitzgerald, and only then learned of his obvious erudition on that topic! He was an original, a deep-flowing stream. I still hear his voice somewhere inside when I write. If I had to choose an epigram that summed up his view of life, it might be that of Samuel Johnson: "Clear your mind of cant!" Above all, he believed you will never think well unless you can first think clearly. I will miss him.

He asked me to call him "Barney" when I got hold of him back in the mid-1980s for the first time since leaving Cubberley Hight School. I never could. He was always to be "Mr. Tanner." That bit of respect was the least I could do for the man who changed my life. I was corresponding with Mr. Tanner up until the beginning of 2013. When I stopped getting replies, I didn't want to know what happened. I figured it was this. I had the great good fortune of being eccentric enough to get extra attention in his College English AP class. I was lucky to have him for two years, too (69-70, 70-71). Best advice he ever gave me: "Don't take creative writing, stay clear of the trendy nonsense, read at least 100 times as much as you write (!), and, when you find your own voice, take good care of it." I am surprised at the lack of testimonials, but chalk that up to simple ignorance. I believe I can contact enough folks that Mr. Tanner helped to get a few more stories placed here. He was a wonderful man, and whatever sort of a writer/editor and communicator I turned out to be, I owe to him. I still can't say "Barney." But Mr. Tanner was a first-rate human being and I am so very proud to have known him. Erik Jay

It was an honor to be Barney's publisher and see his last monograph( on Joycean influences in F.Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby) to press. Barney was an exacting,vigorous and focused scholar whose pioneering work on F.Scot Fitzgerald's greatest novel have greatly enriched us all.