Excerpts from obituary published in San Diego Union-Tribune on 9/13/2016:

Ben Press, affectionately known as “Mr. Tennis San Diego,” passed away on September 9, 2016.  Ben was born on May 21, 1924, in San Diego, California, grew up in the North Park section of town with Ted Williams and played baseball and tennis with him as a kid.  He attended San Diego High School and studied at UCLA on a tennis scholarship where his education was put on hold when he joined the Navy during the outbreak of World War II.  During his active duty he served as a corpsman aboard USS TRINITY (AO-13) a tanker which fueled ships in the Pacific.

After returning to San Diego, Ben began a life-long career as a tennis professional at the Kona Kai Club for 18 years and spent 28 years as the tennis director at the Hotel del Coronado.  He continued to teach tennis until the age of 91, published a book on tennis and penned hundreds of articles in San Diego newspapers and magazines.  Ben was an inaugural member of the San Diego Tennis Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Southern California Senior Hall of Fame in 2012.  He founded the Greater San Diego City Tennis Council and received the 2016 USPTA Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ben Press was predeceased by his two wives and is survived by three children and five grandchildren.  He will be buried at El Camino Memorial Park in San Diego.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)