Birgitta Linnea Martin

Oct 16, 1941 -

Oct 2, 2025

Longtime Anchorage, Alaska, resident Birgitta L. Martin died peacefully under the watchful eyes of her children on Oct. 2, 2025, in Pasadena, Calif. Her long journey with Alzheimer's has come to an end. Birgitta immigrated to the United States from her homeland of Sweden in 1963. Arriving in Harlem, NYC, on Thanksgiving Day, she set out to make a new life for herself in the U.S., and during the following summer she met William "Bill" H. Martin, the love of her life, while strolling through Central Park. Their magical love produced many adventures thanks to Bill's career in the Army. Bill and Birgitta, aka The B&B Adventure Team, fulfilled their wish to return to Alaska in 1983 - they had been stationed at Fort Wainwright in the early 70s - and bought a home in Mountain View when Bill retired. Birgitta was an avid runner competing in events in Anchorage like the Alaska Women's 10K Run. She also loved to cross-country ski and hike, and was an avid baker of Swedish holiday delights. A voracious reader of mysteries, she and Bill were frequent visitors to the Loussac Library. Birgitta was an excellent listener and advice giver to all that asked, to say she was a cherished friend and mother is an understatement. Birgitta commuted by bicycle throughout her working life - in fact, she never learned to drive! - and was a daily rider of the People Mover's route 45 from Mountain View to downtown. where she worked for over 15 years for the Municipality. She was known to run on her lunch breaks along the Coastal Trail. After retiring, the B&B Adventure Team sold the house in Mountain View and moved into a condo in the Chugach Foothills, quickly making the surrounding trails their backyard playground. A few years after the move, she started to experience signs of something she dreaded since her father had died of same: Alzheimer's. In 2018, the deepening throes of the disease along with care costs forced the family to move Birgitta to California, where proper care could be maintained under the guardianship of her son and daughter. Birgitta was well taken care of in her final years at an assisted living facility in Pasadena. She is survived by her two children Kelly M. Martin and Sean E. Martin of Los Angeles. Her husband of 58 years, Bill Martin took leave of this earth in 2020, joining the predeceased family of cats and one dog. She is also survived by her elder sister Ann-Marie Carlsson of Ronneby, Sweden. Her eldest brother Jan Aghed passed away in 2018, in Malmo, Sweden. She leaves behind five nieces and nephews and their children, all in Sweden, along with a slew of dear, cherished cousins and friends all over the world. Please consider donating in her name to Alzheimer's Resource in Alaska or any Alzheimer's research or local ALZ support program of your choosing. She will be greatly missed.