Conway, MA – Laurie S. Block, 74, of Conway, Massachusetts, passed away on Tuesday, September 8th.
Laurie was born on November 15th, 1951, the eldest daughter of Merrill Y. and Myra L. (Winograd) Block. She spent much of her youth swimming, training seriously at Springfield College, which fostered a lifelong love of the water. Her father’s work as the owner of Block’s Women’s Shop in Westfield – and his devotion to the Pioneer Valley – helped instill in her an enduring appreciation for local businesses and back roads. Her commitment to never taking the same route there as back may well have come from him. From her mother, an educator, came a love of learning and travel, along with the inherited role of bringing family together for special occasions, among them countless Thanksgivings and Passover seders.
Laurie ventured across the country to attend the innovative Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, before returning to Massachusetts to work in kitchens. After eventually tiring of the omelet station at Alice’s Restaurant, she decided to pursue her ambition of becoming a writer and began a career in journalism.
In the early 1980s, she met and married John Crowley, a writer. In 1984, the couple moved to Baptist Hill Road in Conway, beginning a 40-plus-year shared endeavor as creative partners, parents and homemakers. They nurtured their beloved property, painting the exterior of the house on Baptist Hill its bold, trademark colors, and raised twin children, Hazel Crowley of Beverly, MA and Zander Crowley of Amherst, MA.
Laurie later built a career as a documentary research and producer across films, radio and the web. Laurie co-produced the NPR radio series Beyond Affliction, created the award-winning film FIT: Episodes in the History of the Body, and served as a consulting producer for the American Masters documentary Becoming Helen Keller. To promote the study and teaching of disability history, she founded the Disability History Museum, an online resource available at www.disabilitymuseum.org. She amassed a remarkable collection of historical materials and devoted herself to making them accessible to students, teachers, researchers and the public. She also used the materials to develop curricula and organize workshops on how to include disability history topics when teaching grades 7-12 and in higher education.
Much of Laurie’s work was done from the barn office above her home, never far from the local produce, farms and curio shops of the Western Massachusetts she so loved. She was equally loyal to her favorite lunch – a daily quesadilla heated on her beloved cast-iron griddle – and to experimenting with the countless recipes she read and dog-eared enthusiastically, only to follow them in her own loose, creative way.
Laurie treasured her home and the community that grew on Baptist Hill. Outdoors, she crafted beautiful gardens and compiled an evolving collection of eccentric yard ornaments, including a giant metal chicken and bathtub planter installation. Indoors, Laurie surrounded herself with unique art, cherished objects, and plenty of books and festive decor, all curated with a skillful eye. Her neighbors gathered often on the porch, celebrated holidays together, rallied to fix local drainage problems, and created lasting relationships and traditions.
Laurie was a devoted caregiver to her husband, John, who died in August 2026. She is survived by her children; her sister, Barbara Block; brothers, Chuck and Ralph Block; sisters-in-law Cynthia Fager and Margot Hintlian; and a wide circle of family, friends, and colleagues.
Those wishing to honor Laurie and ensure the future of the work she started may make a donation in her name to the “Online Disability History Museum Fund” at The Viscardi Center on Long Island: viscardicenter.org/onlinemuseum. Memorial gifts can also be sent in Laurie’s honor to the American Antiquarian Society.
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