Barbara Jean Carrier Block died Wednesday, Dec. 13. She was 98.
For 71 years, she was the beloved wife of Waldemar L. Block Jr.
Barbara was born June 21, 1925 in Springfield, the daughter of F. Lawrence and Genevieve Cory Carrier. She grew up in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and North Westchester, Conn. She graduated from the State University of New York at Albany and received a master’s degree from Central Connecticut State University.
The Blocks married in North Westchester, Conn. in 1946 and moved to Newington, Conn. in 1953. Barbara taught at the Ruth L. Chaffee School, John Wallace Middle School and Newington High School.
She was an active member of Grace Episcopal Church in Newington, serving as a member of the vestry, directress of the altar guild, coordinator of the neighborhood care groups and as a church school teacher.
Barbara and Walt enjoyed many years of square and round dancing with the Newington and Rocky Hill Square Dance Clubs, Monadnock Squares in Keene, N.H. and the Merry-Go-Rounds in Chicopee. They attended many national and New England square and round dance conventions.
The Blocks built vacation homes in Antrim, N.H. and Martha’s Vineyard that they especially enjoyed in their retirement years. The Elderhostel program took them to many places in this country and in Europe.
Barbara was an avid gardener and loved dogs and the outdoors. She enjoyed hiking, knitting, entertaining and attending theatrical productions.
She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the National Education Association, the Connecticut Education Association, the Newington Teachers Association, the Newington Historical Society, the Hillsborough Historical Society and had served as a docent in the Franklin Pierce Homestead in Hillsborough, N.H.
Barbara was predeceased by her husband in 2017.
Her surviving family members include her daughter Tracy Block Newport and her husband William Newport of Windsor, Conn., son Thomas Carrier Block and his wife Dorothy Poole of Arlington, grandson Timothy Leebrick Parkinson and his partner Katy Carey of Seattle, Wash., granddaughter Cory Carrier Chilberg and her husband Matthew Chilberg of Coventry, Conn., grandson Louis Poole Block of Brooklyn, N.Y, and great-granddaughter Samantha Carrier Chilberg of Coventry, Conn.
Calling hours will be at the Duksa Family Funeral Home at Newington Memorial in Newington, Conn. from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21. Her service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church in Newington, Conn. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024 at 11 a.m., with the Reverend Valerie Miller officiating. She will be interred in Ponemah Cemetery in North Westchester, Conn. at the convenience of her family.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Episcopal Church in Newington, Conn.
To share a condolence with her family, please visit www.duksa.net.
