Britt Dagmar Leite

It is with great sadness that we announce that Britt Dagmar Leite, 87, passed away peacefully on May 3rd, 2025, one day before her 88th birthday in Simsbury, Connecticut. Born in Finnerödja, Sweden, in 1937, to the Reverend Titus Lawenius and Dagmar Lawenius, she was the third of four children. Siblings Bengt Lawenius and Barbro Kamperin pre-deceased her. She is survived by her beloved younger sister Catarina (Cajsa) Christiansson, her brother-in-law Sigvard (Sigge) Christiansson, and her devoted husband of sixty years, Olav Leite.

Raised in Sweden, in her mid-twenties Britt travelled to Phoenix, Arizona, to work as as a nursing exchange student. It was there that she met the love of her life, Olav Leite. A young Norwegian attending business school in Arizona, Olav got lost on his way to a party for the foreign students, but before giving up, he decided to ask a passerby for directions. He finally arrived at the party, and it was there, across the room, that he spotted "the most beautiful woman in the world." The rest is Leite family lore.

Together, Britt and Olav returned to Sweden, got married, and had their first two children, Sofia Karin Leite and Richard Titus Leite. After Sweden, the family moved to Beirut, Lebanon, and then to South Africa, where their third child, Tom Christian Leite, was born. After six years in Johannesburg, they moved to the United Kingdom, and finally to the United States, where they settled in Simsbury in 1985.

Britt was a registered nurse, specializing in plastic surgery for burn victims, many of them children. In the U.S., Britt worked in the Scandinavian store in Farmington, later as a dental assistant, and finally as a treasurer for Olav's company, Simtech, in Granby. She was an active participant and volunteer at St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Simsbury, where she loved singing in the choir.

Britt was a loving grandmother to ten grandchildren. She loved reading, gardening, knitting, and crocheting sweaters and blankets for her grandkids. She was also a superb cook. She prepared countless delicious meals for her large family-her cinnamon bullar and Swedish pancakes were legendary.

Britt was unique in how she cherished her relationships-as a devoted sister, a wife, a mom, a grandmother, and a friend. She was always thinking of how she could help, how she could contribute, and how she could make things better for those she loved.

She will be missed more than words can say.

A memorial service will be held at St. Albans in Simsbury on May 31 at 11 a.m.