Deeply
saddened, we share the news
that Norma Kershaw, a
long-time loyal supporter of
the American Research Center
in Egypt, Orange County
Chapter passed last week at
the age of 95. She left this
world peacefully, in her
Mission Viejo, Calif. home, in
the morning of September 14,
2020.
On
behalf of the ARCE-OC Board of
Directors, I offer our sincere
condolences to Norma’s family
and numerous others who were
close to her. Norma’s strong
personality and her ability to
touch lives and to influence
and connect people is leaving
a huge void in our hearts and
lives. She will be missed
dearly.
Born
on New Year's Eve in 1924,
Norma worked in advertising
before marrying Reuben
Kershaw, a real estate
investor. They and their two
daughters, Barbara and Janet,
lived happily in Glen Neck,
NY. At the age of 43, after
raising the daughters, Norma
decided to pursue her
education. She completed her
B.A. at Queens College, City
University of New York in
1972, majoring in anthropology
and art history, and then, she
moved on to earn a M.A. degree
from Columbia University in
art history and archaeology in
1974. She once showed me a
note from her younger daughter
in reaction to that amazing
achievement. Janet wrote “Can
I call you MA now?”
Norma
was passionate about ancient
art history and archaeology.
She participated in
archaeological excavations in
Israel, Cyprus, and Egypt.
Curious and open minded as she
was, she traveled to many
places in the world, including
Afghanistan and the Soviet
Union. With passion, wit, and
a dose of Norma’s well-known
humor, she taught art history
and archaeology courses for 18
years at the Hofstra
University Continuing
Education and Long Island
University Post. Her ability
to convey the importance of
art historical and
archaeological material made
her a widely respected
speaker. From 1976 to 1989,
she served as a lecturer for
the United Nations Cultural
Affairs Committee.
In
1990, Norma and Reuben moved
to Mission Viejo, Calif. to be
closer to their daughters. In
1991, Norma became a founding
member and a long-time
supporter of ARCE-OC. In 2007,
the Bowers Museum in Santa
Ana, named its 300-seat
auditorium after Norma
Kershaw. Serving on a Board of
Directors of the Bowers
Museum, Norma made it possible
for the ARCE-OC chapter to
have its monthly lectures
there. Using this space has
made our lectures very special
for the members of the chapter
and for the speakers. In 2017,
the chapter had an event
celebrating the 10th
anniversary of its
collaboration with the Bowers
Museum – all thanks to Norma.
Norma’s
passion for archaeology was
the foundation of her long and
highly accomplished history
with the Archaeological
Institute of America (AIA). In
1968, she helped found the
Long Island Society, serving
as its president from 1977 to
1981. She became a Lifetime
Member of the AIA in 1976 and
received AIA’s prestigious
Martha and Artemis Joukowsky
Distinguished Service Award in
1989.
She also served as a
travel editor for AIA’s
ARCHAEOLOGY magazine, from
1980 to 1985. After moving to
California, she founded the
AIA’s Orange County Society in
1991 and served as its first
president. She joined the AIA
Governing Board in 1992, and,
in 1996, was the first female
(and up to now the only) named
as a Trustee Emerita of the
Institute.
Norma
was also deeply committed to
other archaeological
organizations. She was a
founding president of the
Cyprus American Archaeological
Research Institute, served on
the editorial board of the
Biblical Archaeology Review,
was a honorary trustee of the
Albright Institute of
Archaeological Research and
honorary trustee of the
American Schools of Oriental
Research (ASOR). From the
latter, she received the
Richard J. Scheuer Medal in
1997 and The Charles U. Harris
Service Award in 2014.
Norma’s
passion has never stopped. She
was instrumental in bringing
the Dead Sea Scrolls and House
of David Inscription
exhibitions to the Bowers
Museum, where she served on
the Board of Trustees. She was
also responsible for endowing
two university chairs. Dr.
Aaron Burke holds the Kershaw
Chair of Ancient Eastern
Mediterranean Studies at the
University of California, Los
Angeles and Dr. Thomas Levy
the inaugural seat of the
Norma Kershaw Chair in the
Archaeology of Ancient Israel
and Neighboring Lands at the
University of California, San
Diego.
The
ARCE-OC Board of Directors and
I will cherish Norma’s wisdom,
generosity, and commitment to
ancient history and
archaeology, particularly
Egyptian and Biblical, for as
long as we can. Norma had
sponsored the chapter’s
numerous speakers and events.
She had attended our monthly
lectures regularly and was
there in spirit after she was
unable to attend in person.
I called her my
Jewish Mom and she kindly
encouraged it.
We
will miss you, Norma!
With
Kind Regards,
Eva
Kirsch, President, ARCE-OC
