Obituary of John Bard McNulty

Retired Trinity College Professor John Bard McNulty died September 4, 2015 at home. He was 99. One of four sons of Episcopal missionaries, he was born in Mokanshan, China, and spent his childhood in Soochow (now Suzhou). He graduated from Shanghai American School in 1934 as class president, then came to the United States to continue his education. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in 1938 and a master’s from Columbia in 1939, then returned to Trinity to teach English, earning his Ph.D. from Yale in 1944. In 1942, he married The Hartford Courant’s society editor, Marjorie Grant. Known since childhood as Bard, he was named for his direct ancestor John Bard, a founder of King’s College (now Columbia University). John Bard’s son, Samuel Bard, another ancestor, was George Washington’s personal physician and the founder of New York Hospital. At Trinity, he served for five years as chairman of the Department of English. He retired from the James J. Goodwin Professorship of English in 1984, although he continued to teach part-time for 15 more years. Prof. McNulty was the author or editor of several books, among them Older Than the Nation: The History of the Hartford Courant; Modes of Literature; The Correspondence of Thomas Cole and Daniel Wadsworth; Connecticut Observed; and John Warner Barber’s Views of Connecticut Towns. In recent years, he devoted much of his time to studying and writing about the Bayeux Tapestry, the 11th century embroidery depicting the conquest of England by William the Conqueror. He was a consultant to the British Broadcasting Corporation on the Bayeux Tapestry, and was the author of The Narrative Art of the Bayeux Tapestry Master and Visual Meaning in the Bayeux Tapestry. He has given presentations on the Bayeux Tapestry in England, France, Italy and the United States. Connecticut history and arts were among his interests. He was a former president and trustee of the Antiquarian and Landmarks Society, and was an honorary trustee of the Connecticut Historical Society. He was also a member of the Acorn Club, a Hartford-based historical society. He lived in Glastonbury, where he was active in community life for many years. A former president of the Historical Society of Glastonbury, he was the first chairman of the Glastonbury Heritage Committee and a former president of the South Glastonbury Public Library. He spearheaded the movement to establish Glastonbury’s first historic district, and was a founder of the Glastonbury Square Dance Club. His wife, Marjorie Grant McNulty, died in 2002. He leaves a son and daughter-in-law, Henry and Anne McNulty of Cheshire; a daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and James Pettingell of Glastonbury; three grandchildren, Judith Gibriano, Christine Pettingell, and Frederick McNulty; two great-granddaughters, Caitlyn Gibriano and Ella Gibriano; and a cousin, Mary Elizabeth McNulty Stoughton of Bloomfield. A memorial service will be held Thursday Sept. 10, at 11am in the Congregational Church of South Glastonbury, corner of Main and High Sts., South Glastonbury. Memorial donations may be made to FISH of Glastonbury, P.O. Box 205, Glastonbury, CT 06033. For online condolences please visitwww.mulryanfh.com.