Elizabeth Bjorlin, 41, Pepsi executive, mother of two

Elizabeth S. Bjorlin of Ives Court died at her home on Friday, July 28, after a three and one-half year battle with breast cancer. She was 41 years old and the wife of Scott W. Bjorlin. The Bjorlin family has been Ridgefield residents for the past five and one-half years.
Mrs. Bjorlin was born in Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 23, 1958 and moved to New York City as a young child. After a few years in New York, her family moved to Bedford, N.Y., where she attended Fox Lane High School. She graduated with honors from Smith College in 1980 with a degree in mathematics and spent a semester at Oxford University in England. While at Smith College, she organized and founded the debating society there.
After college, Mrs. Bjorlin started her career in the finance department at Reader’s Digest in Pleasantville, N.Y. Then, after a brief stint at Nestle, she joined the Pepsi-Cola Company of Purchase, N.Y. in 1986, in the Management Information Services Department. Her career blossomed as she quickly moved through various assignments in the Operations, Marketing Services and Marketing departments where she recently headed up the successful “Pepsi Stuff” programs.
In 1990 she met her husband, Scott, and the couple was married on April 27, 1991 after a whirlwind romance that included an engagement proposal in a hot-air balloon. The Bjorlins have two girls, Kari (seven) and Kristen (four). Six months after Kristen’s birth, Mrs. Bjorlin developed the cancer that eventually led to her death.
In addition to her husband and two daughters, she is survived by a brother, William Gill Jr. of Bridgeport; two sisters, Katherine Knapp of Sherman, and Christina Falise of Tampa, Fla.; three half-sisters; and her parents, Robert A. and Katherine S. Falise of Bedford, N.Y.
A memorial service was held on Wednesday, Aug. 2, at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, N.Y.
Contributions may be made in her memory to the Norma F. Phriem Breast Care Center, 267 Grant Street, Bridgeport, CT 06610. Lee Ann Riley, who became a close friend of Beth’s, founded the center after surviving a bout with breast cancer herself.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.