Nancy Stone Bernard, founder of the Archaeological Associates of Greenwich, passed away peacefully on March 12 at her home at age 87. She was predeceased by her husband, Allan H. Bernard in 2019 after 62 years of marriage.
Nancy was born in Los Angeles, on March 31, 1934. A fourth generation Californian, she graduated from Stanford University in 1955. After Stanford, where she wrote for the humor magazine “Chaparral,” she headed East to New York City where she entered the Doubleday training program and was later appointed as head of the Flap Writing Department.
She met her husband in New York and returned to Los Angeles where they were married and resided in Malibu and Los Feliz.
Nancy moved back East to Greenwich in 1974 with her family when her husband was transferred to New York to work for the Consolidated Foods Corp.
Prior to moving to Greenwich, Nancy spent four years as a Research Collaborator at UCLA’s Institute of Archaeology studying a collection of stone age tools gathered by an American Sir Henry Solomon Wellcome for the British Museum then donated to UCLA’s Fowler Museum of Cultural History. It was there that Nancy trained as a docent volunteer to teach the story of human evolution to students using those stone age tools in a program called “The Early Man Project.” She would replicate and rename that program as the Prehistoric People Program when she brought it to Greenwich, with a selection of stone age tools on loan from UCLA.
Nancy established her non-profit Archaeological Associates of Greenwich in 1975, then trained her docents before introducing her Prehistoric People Program first in private homes, then at Brunswick School before partnering with the Bruce Museum’s Brucemobile education outreach program which would introduce her Program, its docents and stone age tools into sixth grade classrooms in both Fairfield and Westchester counties. Those borrowed stone age tools would allow students the opportunity to feel and touch what was made thousands of years ago. In addition, the Bruce invited AAG to hold its meetings at the Bruce and offer six lectures a year on archaeological topics by distinguished speakers.
Nancy was honored by the State of Connecticut General Assembly in 1988 for her “outstanding contribution to the furthering of the arts in Fairfield County” and her “dedication in sharing her expertise in archaeology through programs for children and seniors.” Jack Clark, then director of the Bruce Museum, had nominated Nancy for this Hartford Courant statewide Volunteer Recognition Program for her Prehistoric People Program that had “reached over 30,000 students, seniors, and adults.” By 2016, some 75,000 students had been introduced to Nancy’s stone age tools.
Nancy’s archaeological travels included leading tour groups for the Bruce in the 1980’s and 1990’s to Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland. A visit to Stonehenge brought about a book for children Nancy co-wrote which was published by the Oxford University Press. Nancy would co-write two other books, one from her travels in Egypt, “Valley of the Kings,” and “Cahokia Mounds” from a trip to St. Louis.
Nancy would serve six years on the board of the prestigious Archeological Institute of America (AIA). As co-chair of its Education Committee Nancy would help create a classroom book for teachers, “Archaeology in the Classroom” that included websites and information for teachers. Nancy also served on the Board of the Bruce Museum in Greenwich for a number of years serving on its collections committee.
Nancy played on the Town of Greenwich A Tennis team for many years and won a number of singles and double championships in her age group in the Town of Greenwich Tennis tournaments in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Nancy leaves behind her three sons, Nicholas of Scottsdale, AZ, (Linda), grandson Aaron and granddaughter Natasha; son Matthew of Greenwich, and grandson Colin and granddaughter Catie; and son Jason (Marilyn) of Sudbury, MA, and grandson Spencer.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Byram Shubert Library Archaeological Lecture Series, which has been established in Nancy Bernard’s memory. Donations can be sent to the Byram Shubert Library, 21 Mead Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830.
