WALTER V BAHNSEN IN COPENHAGEN, DENMARK WITH THE LITTLE MERMAID

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Walter V. Bahnsen, a longtime optical lab owner and executive, died in Honolulu, Hawaii on Dec. 25, 2022. He was 80 years old and lived in Ewa Beach, Oahu. Born in Flensburg, Germany, Bahnsen earned degrees in optics and business administration earned from schools in Germany. He entered the optical industry in 1959. As West Coast branch manager for American Optical, Bahnsen guided the company’s Los Angeles and San Francisco facilities. In 1976, he joined Continental Sales Company (CSC) of Santa Cruz, Calif. as vice president, laboratory. 

He founded Bahnsen Optical and Optical Microcoating in Salinas, Calif. in 1979, serving as president until 1996. During that period, he pioneered new methods of anti-reflective coatings.

Following the sale of these companies, Bahnsen served as product manager, Leybold, with Loh Optical Machinery, and was also product manager of Satis Vacuum of America. He worked with Kaiser Permanente for 10 years as the Optical Lab Supervisor before retiring and traveling the world.
Bahnsen attended Vision Expo West and Vision Expo East many times, most recently in the fall of 2022.
Bahnsen served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era. He is interred at Punchbowl, the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, and received a military honors ceremony. Survivors include his wife of 20 years, Dolores Bahnsen.

WALTER VOLKER BAHNSEN

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