Birgitta Eivor Moylan, a Johns Hopkins bacteriologist who studied allergies and was the matriarch of the Swedish Club in Baltimore, died of congestive heart failure Oct. 23 at her Homeland residence. She was 84.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, she was the daughter of Sigurd Valther Jansson, an executive with the Stockholm Tramways, and Irma Birgitta Andersson Jansson, who owned a restaurant called Fregatten.
She spent her teenage years working at her great-aunt’s general store on the island of Yxlan in Stockholm’s archipelago. She graduated from Bromma Kommunala Flickskola in 1959 and later attended the Karolinska Institute, a medical university, where she trained as a bacteriologist.
In October 1963, she moved to Baltimore’s Hamilton neighborhood to join a team at Johns Hopkins Hospital as a bacteriologist.
“She took a huge chance in coming to Baltimore. She picked Johns Hopkins and said, ‘I’ve heard of that.’ She loved her job and loved to work,” said her son, Stephan Moylan. “She was kind and warm and took care of people.”
She met her future husband, Martin Moylan, after an article and photo about Hopkins and her work appeared in the News American. A photographer gave her number to News American political reporter Frank DeFilippo, who in turn gave it to his friend, attorney Martin Moylan.
“On their blind date, Birgitta, whose English was still developing, mistakenly thought Martin was a truck driver because he talked about trucks — a reference to his job at the Interstate Commerce Commission,” said her son. “We believe their first date was to the Eichenkranz restaurant.”
“She told me she had her Swedish language book when they went on the date,” Stephan said. “Fortunately, her Swedish roommate later clarified that he was a lawyer, and their future was sealed.”
After raising three children, she returned to Hopkins at the Bayview Medical Center and joined the asthma and allergy research center. She worked alongside Dr. Robert Naclerio, an otolaryngologist.
Mrs. Moylan was a member of the Johns Hopkins Club and fostered her Swedish heritage through her involvement in the Sveaborg Society of Maryland, a local Swedish American club. She met with its members at various Lutheran churches throughout Baltimore.
“Her Swedish accent got stronger through time. She was always involved with food. She had hundreds of cookbooks. She could plan a meal, cook it and be the life of the party,” her son said. “She was a social butterfly. She was socially active until the day she died. She never stopped and was a person of action.”
Her husband, Martin Moylan, an attorney, died in 2019.
Survivors include two sons, Judge Stephan Moylan, of Oakland in Garrett County, and Christopher Moylan, of Stockholm, Sweden; a daughter, Martina Dilks, of Baltimore; a sister, Maja Berg, of Degeberga, Sweden; a brother, Christer Jansson of Stockholm; and seven grandchildren.
The family will announce service arrangements at a later date.
Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at jkelly@baltsun.com.
