Burk Teuffel

On August 24, 2023, Burk passed away with his daughter Monika by his side, at Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, CA as a result of cardiac arrest. He had been residing in the neighboring city of Tustin, at an assisted living senior community since 2021.

Born as Burkhard Teuffel in Berlin, Germany on September 18, 1939, Burk was the second youngest of six children to Lothar and Hildegard. The Teuffel family endured many hardships during World War II, including having to escape to other parts of Germany to find safety and persevere. By 1946 they were able to return to their home in Kleinmachnow, a suburb of Berlin, but in the following years the construction of the Berlin Wall would eventually cut Kleinmachnow off from West Berlin. In 1952, the family made the dangerous but courageous decision to leave behind their family home along with most of their belongings in order to flee from East Germany to Landstuhl, located in Allied-occupied West Germany.

Burk continued his schooling in Landstuhl until the age of 18 when he moved to Esslingen in West Germany to work as a mechanic apprentice. Growing up in areas occupied by U.S. troops left an impression on young Burk, and he dreamed of starting a new life in the United States one day. At a mere age of 22 years old, with hardly a suitcase and no contacts awaiting to welcome him on the other side, he daringly took what little money he had and crossed the Atlantic Ocean to emigrate to North America. He first landed in Toronto, Ontario where he stayed and worked until he earned enough to purchase his first car. He eagerly set off on the iconic Route 66 road trip across the U.S. to arrive at his goal destination of Los Angeles, CA in 1963.

In 1964, Burk enlisted in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Vicenza, Italy from 1965-1966. Upon returning to Los Angeles, he attended Culver City Adult School to receive his GED while working as a lab technician, and then worked as an ambulance driver and attendant. In 1969, Burk proudly received his U.S. citizenship and soon after began his studies at California State University Northridge, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Foreign Language. While studying there he decided to pursue a teaching career, which led to receiving his Secondary Teaching Credential. In 1974 he began working as a substitute teacher for Los Angeles Unified School District.

After being introduced by mutual friends and falling in love, Burk married his wife Yoshie (Taniguchi) in 1981 in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles. They had daughter Monika in 1984 before settling down at their Gardena residence in South Bay Los Angeles nearly 40 years ago.

He received additional teaching credentials at California State University Los Angeles in 1983, and began working full-time at Berendo Middle School in Los Angeles in 1982 as an ESL (English Second Language) teacher. He would continue to teach there for nearly 20 years through his retirement at the end of 2001. His love of linguistics proved especially useful, as he spoke to his students in both English and Spanish daily. Additional languages he enjoyed familiarizing himself with throughout his lifetime included French, Italian, Russian, and a little Japanese.

His other major interests included reading, camping, nature photography, classic cars, and compiling meticulous lists that tracked everything from family histories to his various collections. He particularly enjoyed collecting stamps and books, and he treasured taking the time to label and organize his collected works throughout the house. He imparted his love for nature to Yoshie and Monika, and most family holidays were happily spent camping and visiting national and state parks with their small trailer. His last grand camping adventure took place in 2009 to commemorate his 70th birthday, when Burk and Yoshie took their VW Rialto cross-country to Toronto to retrace the path he took when he first came to America almost five decades earlier. In true Burk style, he made sure to precisely track the five week journey, calculating 8,330 miles through 22 states and provinces. He will be remembered for being diligent, practical, well-read, determined, and hardworking. He appreciated good chats with good people, liked singing enthusiastically to oldies music in the car on road trips, and always had a sweet tooth for chocolate.

He is survived by his daughter Monika, son-in-law Caleb Moorlach, grandsons Koa Moorlach and Oaken Moorlach, brothers Hartmut Teuffel and Volkher Teuffel, sister Hiltrud Teuffel, sisters-in-law Irmela Teuffel and Rosmarie Teuffel, and several nieces and nephews.

He was 83 years young.