Nancy Hirst

It is with sadness that the family of Nancy Hand Hirst announces her passing on July 18, 2018. She passed peacefully at her home in Palm Beach, Florida; she was 92. Nancy was born in Los Angeles, California on February 24, 1926. She attended Stanford University on a full scholarship and graduated in 1947. She held a BA Magna Cum Ladue and was a member of Phi Betta Kappa. Additionally, she was a member of the Stanford University in Washington Council that provides seminars, tutorials and internships to selected Stanford students in government in Washington, DC> Nancy also served eight years on the George Mason University Board of Visitors.

Nancy was a retired legislative staff member and was active in historic preservation in Virginia and throughout the world. During her tenure on the Board of Trustees at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts she served as chairwoman of the Nominating Committee and as a member of the Collections Committee. SH was co-chairwoman of the museum’s Faberge Society.

Hirst’s interests in historic preservation began long before her work at the museum. She participated in a congressional study in Europe that led to the enactment of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. She served on the Virginia Board of Historic Resources, an organization connected with the identification and preservation of historic buildings and sites within the Commonwealth. Hirst also served as chairwoman of the Citizen’s Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion. She participated in the entire Attingham Summer School Program devoted to the study of collections, architecture and gardens of the great houses of Britain, including the Royal Collections in Windsor Castle and in Buckingham Palace.

In addition to her career in preservation, Hirst worked in the U.S. Congress as Staff Director of the Special Subcommittee on Traffic Safety. She conducted the hearings that established the crash-worthiness of automobile seatbelts. She also worked for the passage of the first child-care tax relief for working mothers.

Nancy enjoyed photography as her hobby, and her work was published in the Encyclopedia Britannica, Newsweek and The Housing Yearbook.

Nancy was predeceased by her husband, Omer, in 2003, and by her brothers, Carey, Andrew and Henry Hand. She is survived by her sister Barbara Blakeslee of San Rafael, CA and her two children Winifred Henderson of San Diego, CA and her son Christopher Henderson of West Palm Beach, FL, in addition to her grandchildren Gavin and Neal Henderson