Frederick Block Obituary

Block, Frederick Ottomar

March 25, 1938 – June 10, 2021 Frederick Ottomar Block, 83, died on June 10, 2021, at his home in Lincolnshire, IL, after a brave battle with Alzheimer's

disease. He is survived by Nikki Lu (Hollwager) Block, his beloved wife and best friend of 29 years.

Born on March 25, 1938, in Montclair, NJ, he attended the Cedar Grove (NJ) elementary school and was a 1956 graduate of Bloomfield (NJ) High School, where for three years, he was an honors student, member of the National Honor Society, and class officer. He lettered in both varsity basketball and varsity tennis, played leading roles in school musicals, was selected for the All-State Chorus in New Jersey, played the trumpet, French horn and sousaphone in the orchestra and marching band. In 1960 Mr. Block was graduated with a Civil Engineering degree by Cornell University where he played varsity basketball and tennis for three years, sang in both the Air Force Glee Club and the famous Cornell University Glee Club, and was a member and officer of Theta Xi fraternity.

In June of 1961, he married his former wife, Janet May (Laird) Block, with whom he had two daughters, Lisa Kristen (Block) Baldwin and Amy Laura (Block) Patterson; two daughters-in-law, Diane (Gensler) Block; Lisa (Karp) Block; and stepdaughter, Caroline Kulas; 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Virginia (Bostwick) and Laurence F. Block, his brother Donald B. Block, and two sons, Eric Jonathan (Rick) Block and Christopher Laird Block.

As a civil engineer with the State of California, Division of Highways, and the engineering firm of De Leuw, Cather & Co., he worked on the Golden Gate Freeway in San Francisco and the Embarcadero Freeway in Oakland, both in CA. After moving to Yardley, PA, he worked on Route I-95 bridges in Philadelphia and Bucks County, the Madison Square Garden roof, chair and gondola lifts in New England, a bridge over the Delaware River south of Philadelphia, several Bicentennial projects in Philadelphia, and the preliminary design documents for the planned Second Avenue Subway in New York City. He worked for Thiokol Corp. and SPS Technologies, Inc., two international manufacturing corporations, on projects including a new manufacturing complex in Salt Lake City, UT, and provided engineering/construction expertise for many worldwide projects, including manufacturing facilities in Ireland and Puerto Rico.

In 1991 Mr. Block moved to Chicago, married Nikki on September 7, became a licensed Real Estate Professional, and worked for the prominent NAI Hiffman brokerage firm, specializing in large build-to-suit warehouse projects for Sears, Kraft, USAA, Alcoa Aluminum, Sweetheart (Solo) Cup, Mack Truck as well as brokering leasing, sales and investment transactions for companies like Caterpillar Corporation in Peoria, IL, where he oversaw the disposition and re-zoning of their industrial-facility and land portfolio. In 2004 he founded his own firm, Block Realty Advisors, Inc., to provide investment exchanges, build-to-suits, and site searches for developers, and acquisition/disposition transactions of industrial properties for corporate clients. He was a long-time member of SIOR, AIRE, NICAR, NAIOP, WERC, REAA and the National Society of Civil Engineers.

Mr. Block enjoyed coaching youth baseball and softball; basketball, golf, tennis, fishing, swimming, and skiing; growing Mr. Lincoln roses; singing in the famous Apollo Chorus, the New Traditions acapella men's chorus, and many church choirs; actively participating in community theater in the Philadelphia and Chicago areas as an actor, singer, and board member. He was in 21 productions of the Winnetka Village Follies and in musicals at CenterStage, Winnetka Theater Group, Theater in the Rough, and the Citadel Theater. Especially memorable was his portrayal of Big Julie in "Guys & Dolls". He was thrilled when the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series; was a life-long San Francisco Giants fan; loved dogs and cats, Door County (WI) in the fall, Green Pond (NJ) in the summer, a good joke, and food especially peanut butter.

A Celebration of Life memorial service will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, July 17, at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, IL. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Fred's name to the Alzheimer's Association (act.alz./donate) to find a cure for this devastating disease or to the no-kill shelter and adoption center, PAWS Chicago (www.pawschicago.org) to honor the animals that gave Fred so much pleasure during his lifetime. Info: Wenban Funeral Home, Lake Forest (847) 234-0022 or www.wenbanfh.com

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