Betsy Chernoff Tanzer, 84, died May 12, 2019.
Mrs. Tanzer was born on Nov. 18, 1934, in Middletown, Connecticut, to Phillip M. and Pauline S. Chernoff. She grew up in Middletown with two brothers and a twin sister. She attended Brandeis University, University of Michigan, and graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with a major in ceramics. She married Marvin L. Tanzer in 1954, with whom she raised four children. Mrs. Tanzer pursued a career in art, becoming a world-renowned ceramist. She was an acclaimed clay art teacher, providing advanced classes from Connecticut to California, Alaska, and many places in between. Over the course of her 60-year career, she won numerous awards and fellowships, and participated in many juried exhibitions around the country. She and Marvin moved to Tucson in 2003, where she founded the Tucson Clay Art Center.
Mrs. Tanzer was predeceased by her brothers, Donald Chernoff and Gerald Chernoff, and her twin sister, Nancy Chernoff Wetstone. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Marvin, and her children, Laura of Tucson, Andrew of Pennsylviania, Matthew of New Jersey and Jennifer of Virginia; and five grandchildren.
Arrangements were made by Angel Valley Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Tucson Clay Art Center Student Scholarship Fund, 1703 E. Ft. Lowell Road, Tucson, AZ 85719.
