Carolina Mountain Club member Bernard Elias died in Asheville, North Carolina on August 13, 2010. His friend and fellow club member, Gerry McNabb, shared his memories of Bernard in the CMC E-Newsletter:
"Bernard Elias died at the VA hospital in Asheville on Friday Aug. 13 after a fall at his home. He was 91 years old.
Until his death, Bernard was the oldest member of the club, having joined in 1941 when Arch Nichols was president. He was also the one among us with the longest membership. Not only was he on our rolls a long time, he was a past president and very active in conservation issues before it was fashionable. He helped prevent a planned second road across the Smokies west of US 441. He also edited and produced the very popular "100 Favorite Trails" map, now out of print. He told me once it was the project he was most proud of.
He was a good friend to me since I joined the club in 1964; he taught me many of the ins and outs of photography. He was one of a kind."