JAMES BLOCK

BLOCK--James. James Block passed away on May 7, 2020. Beloved husband of 59 years of Barbara Block, loving father of Valerie (Alexis) and Peter (Judy). Doting grandfather of Vanessa, Jeremy, and Milo. Cherished brother of Susan Stearns. He was born in New York City in 1937 to the late Melvin Block and Anita Wangrow. He held various positions at Block Drug Company starting in 1959, including serving as Chairman of the Board from 1988 to 2001, when the company was purchased by Glaxo-SmithKline. He was until recently, the President of Block Asset Management. He was for 26 years a member of the Board of Directors and an officer of the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association. Mr. Block Graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. Mr. Block was active in a number of cultural, educational and service organizations. He was a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairman of the Development Committee of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. He was a member of the Board of the National Museum of the American Indian's Heye Center. He was a Board and Executive Committee member of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF where he served as Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committees. He was past president of the Associated YM&YWHA of Greater New York and a past member of the Board and Treasurer of the Dalton School. He was also a member of the Board of Overseers and Chairman of the Development Committee at the Hopkins Center/ Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College. Mr. Block was a recipient of the Smithsonian Institution's James Smithson Society Founder's Medal in 1992. He was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He also received Lincoln Center's Performing Arts Distinguished Service Award in 2009. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mr. Block's honor can me made to support the research of Dr. Marc Pecker, New York Hospital, 424 East 70th St., New York, NY 10021.