DIANE BERNSTEIN

1933 - 2021

BERNSTEIN Diane Diamond Bernstein Diane Bernstein died peacefully in her home on April 30, 2021, surrounded by her family. Born in Chicago on July 27, 1933 to Leo and Dora Sniderman Diamond, she moved to Washington, DC and later New York City, where she attended Bronx School of Science, then Vassar College. In 1954, she married Norman Bernstein after a brief engagement. Their extraordinary bond would last 67 years, producing six children and twelve grandchildren. Diane lived a fifty-year commitment to children's issues and organizations. She worked at Children's National Medical Center, where she founded the Patient Representative Office, co-founded the Department of Child Life, the New Horizons cultural enrichment program and the hospital's Quality Assurance Program. She later served on the CNMC Board of Directors and was Vice-Chair of the Children's Research Institute. She joined the Board of Directors of the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children and served as its Chair. In 1992, she co-founded and was President of DC Action for Children for over twelve years, serving as Executive Director, and created the DC Children's Health Care Coalition. In 1999, Mrs. Bernstein was appointed by then-Mayor Anthony Williams to the Board of Directors of the DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation, where she served as Vice Chair. As an active partner with Norman in their philanthropy, she brought her expertise to their funding of programs supporting the most vulnerable children in the region. In 2004, she took the reins as President of the Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation. Mrs. Bernstein also served on the Boards of the Community Foundation of the National Capital Region, President's Council of the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Advisory Board of the National Science Research Council and Sixth & I Synagogue. Her activism sometimes got her into "good trouble", including being arrested and briefly jailed in 2011 while protesting for DC voting rights. In addition to passion for her work, she had a keen aesthetic eye. She delighted in opera, classical music and the beauty of nature, particularly cherry blossoms in DC and sunsets in Woods Hole, MA. She took immense pride in the accomplishments of her children and grandchildren, and sincere interest in everyone she encountered. Diane is survived by her husband, Norman Bernstein, their six children: Celia Bernstein (Bradley Kesden) of Los Angeles, Marianne Bernstein (Robert Kalb) of Chicago, Nancy Bernstein (Robert Schoen) of Pittsburgh, Susan Bernstein of Boston, Joshua Bernstein (Lisa) of Washington, DC and Elizabeth Norton (Robert) of Brooklyn, and 12 grandchildren: Jacob Kalb, Benjamin Kalb, Molly Bernstein, Noah Schoen, Emily Bernstein, Lena Kesden, Andrew Bernstein, Zoe Schoen, Lucy Norton, Sophie Siegel-Bernstein, Max Norton and Eli Siegel-Bernstein, her brother Joseph Diamond (Susan) of New York and sister Gail Schwartz of Chevy Chase. Burial services are private..