Birgitta V. Block

Eira Birgitta Block (née Vetterlein), 89, of Bronxville, New York and La Grange, Illinois, passed away on May 10, 2026 — Mother’s Day. She was born on November 26, 1936 in Stockholm, Sweden to the late Gunnar and Eira Vetterlein and had 3 siblings: Ajan, Einar and Eira.

Birgitta, or ”Gittan,” was beautiful, tenacious, adventurous and intelligent. During her youth she mastered many textile crafts, including sewing, embroidery, knitting and lace-making. But Birgitta chafed a bit at these quiet pursuits. More her speed was zipping around Stockholm on her Vespa, or paddling her kayak on the Baltic Sea. She yearned for adventure, and that wanderlust led her to a chance encounter, on a train in London, with a young American named Adam. Adam Block and Birgitta Vetterlein married in Stockholm in October, 1959 and together moved to New York City. And so began Birgitta’s life in America, where she lived until her death.

Adam and Birgitta welcomed two children in the mid 1960s: Adrian and Jennifer, and raised them in Bronxville, New York.

Throughout the 1970s, Birgitta put her handicraft skills to the test by sewing for Vogue Patterns — an offshoot of Vogue Magazine that published sewing patterns along with glamorous photos showing the finished garment. From her home craft room, Birgitta sewed gorgeous original prototypes of groovy vests or embroidered shirts that were then photographed on models and published. Young models of the time such as Christie Brinkley and Kim Alexis showcased Birgitta’s creations and brought them to life.

The 1980’s brought a stint as a real estate agent in Manhattan. Never a follower of American pop culture or entertainment, Birgitta had no idea who Tom Cruise was when she showed him some condominiums in 1983. She told Tom he needed to dress better for condo board interviews, and she was relatively unimpressed when her teenage daughter set the record straight as to who the Risky Business actor was.

More significantly, the 1980s brought a decade of studiousness to Birgitta’s life. She enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College and graduated at the top of her class in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies. In 1989 she earned a Masters in Special Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. From then on, Birgitta honed her skills as a reading specialist and helped innumerable special needs students master reading using the Orton-Gillingham method. Birgitta taught at Windward School in New York and the Schenck School in Atlanta before opening a private practice. Birgitta took great pride in her work, in the reports from parents of her students’ markedly improved classroom results, and in the knowledge that she achieved a level of education in the United States that had eluded her in Sweden.

Birgitta then enjoyed a decade of retirement in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts, where she played golf, renovated her home in a manner that displayed her lovely Swedish antique furniture, and delighted in the Berkshire’s rural scenery.

Ultimately, the urge to be closer to family brought Birgitta to her final destination: La Grange, Illinois. She enjoyed the proximity to Chicago and its cultural offerings such as the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Lyric Opera. She helped care for her grandchildren and often rose early to drive the kids to school, enduring teenage grumpiness with an ingenious method: by pretending to be nothing more than a piece of moss on a rock. “Moss face” — the embodiment of putting on an “invisible” expression — became a family joke and exemplified the amusing things Birgitta said without meaning to be funny.

In her final years, Birgitta enjoyed travel to Maui, Iceland, Canada and of course Sweden. It was during some of those trips that early signs of cognitive decline crept in. What followed was a difficult chapter of declining health, which Birgitta endured with stoicism, grace and positivity. During those years, she loved the company of others, enjoyed conversation, and smiled often. Her decline, though painful to witness, taught her family many lessons on the value of community, volunteerism, the importance of quality elder care, and the many ways in which love can be expressed.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Sweden.

Birgitta is survived by her son Adrian (Helen) Block, daughter Jennifer (Dan) Lauderback, sister Eira Vetterlein, cousin Franziska Ylander, three grandchildren: Jay, Anna and Claire Cromheecke, and many beloved relatives and friends in both the United States and Sweden.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Birgitta’s honor to the Lyme Treatment Foundation or Sarah Lawrence College.