Honorable Judge Benjamin Montmorenci Tench

Article published Apr 28, 2005 in the Gainesville (FL) Sun
Longtime attorney, judge Tench dies

Benjamin M. Tench Jr., who spent almost 50 years in Gainesville as an attorney and judge, died Monday at his home. He was 85.

Mr. Tench most recently served as a senior court judge for the 8th Judicial Circuit. He was a circuit court judge until his retirement in 1990, at which time he remained a senior court judge until 2000.

His friends and associates remember him as a caring and cheerful man, and they said he will be remembered most for the way he mentored and nurtured young attorneys who were just getting their feet wet in the matters of law.

"Of all the things he did, mentoring young lawyers while he was a lawyer, and he continued that while he was a judge, had the most impact on the community," said Dick Jones, who was a partner in the law firm Tench, Goldin and Jones, which was founded in 1968.

Jones said he knew Mr. Tench from the time he himself was a law student. He said Mr. Tench took him under his wing, allowing him to become a part of his law firm Tench and Reynolds, until they later formed their own firm.

"I started working for him when I was in law school in 1958, and we have been friends since then," he said.

"He was a delightful man, a great lawyer and a fun person to be around."

Retired Circuit Court Judge Larry Turner, who went into private practice with Jones after retiring from the bench at the end of 2004, said Mr. Tench also was his mentor.

"He loved the law, and as recently as a week before his death when I visited him, he still enjoyed talking about the law and life as a judge, both his and mine," Turner said.

Turner said he got his start in law when he became a law clerk with Tench, Goldin and Jones. He said he will always remember the passion Mr. Tench had for the law.

"He was a sweet man, which is a statement that men don't often make about other men," Turner said. "He was a kind, caring, considerate and sweet man, and I loved him."

Mr. Tench was born and raised in Gainesville, having graduated from P.K. Yonge Laboratory School. He received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1947.

He received a Bronze Star for his service in the European Theater in World War II.

He got his start in the criminal court system as a municipal judge for the city of Gainesville from 1949-1954.

In 1959 he became an assistant state attorney for the 8th Judicial Circuit, but in 1962 he went to Panama as head of the U.S. Economic Mission to Panama and as an attaché to the U.S. Embassy.

When he returned, he became the special assistant attorney general of Florida for one year before becoming an assistant public defender in Gainesville.

In 1971, he became a judge with the Felony Court of Record, and later moved to the 8th Judicial Circuit Court in 1973 when it was established.

He remained with the 8th Judicial Circuit until his retirement in 1990.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Catherine McInnis Tench, in 2003 after 53 years of marriage.

His four children have gone on to very different but interesting occupations, something his daughter, Lauchlin Tench Waldoch, said her father took pride in.

"He was always so proud we were all so varied and different," she said.

Waldoch is a board-certified elder law attorney in Tallahassee. Son Benmont Tench III is a keyboardist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Daughter Darby Tench Leicht is an operatic singer and university professor, living in New Hampshire. And his third daughter, Rachel Tench, lives in Gainesville and is the development coordinator for the Harn Museum of Art.

He is also survived by two grandchildren.

Funeral Services will be Friday at 11 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville. The family with gather with friends at Mr. Tench's home tonight from 5:30 until 7.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Advocacy Fund of the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys. Arrangements by Milam Funeral and Cremation Services in Gainesville.