Noreen (Cook) Pramberg

Noreen (Cook) Pramberg, 87, of Exeter, N.H., former longtime resident of Newburyport, passed on Friday, November 27, 2020 at Exeter Hospital.

Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, June 10, 1933, to the late John L. and Rhoda  S."Dollie"  (Loveless) Cook, she grew up in Oklahoma and Wyoming, graduating  from Hot Springs County (Wyoming) High School in 1951, and was an active member of her alumni association.  She was a Korean War Veteran, serving in the United States Air Force, was a charter member of Women in Military Service for America and is listed on the roll of the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery at Washington, DC.  She was honored to have her name inscribed on the Korean War Veterans' Monument in Thermopolis, Wyoming.

She met and married John H. "Hack" Pramberg, Jr. on August 21, 1953, while both were stationed at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. The couple returned to Newburyport in 1954, where they resided until 1997, when they moved to Rye Beach, N.H.  "Hack" died July 16, 2005.

Mrs. Pramberg was trained as a medical secretary and employed by Benjamin Gitlitz, M.D. in Thermopolis. While in the Air Force she was stationed at the Pathology Laboratory of Wilford Hall Hospital, and after her discharge worked at Santa Rosa Hospital at San Antonio. In the 1970's she worked for Elwood G. Johnson, M.D., and the Amesbury Hospital. Her medical training and interest led to volunteer service on the Boards of Directors of the Massachusetts Lung Association, and also Board of Directors and president of the Newburyport Health Center, the Swasey Fund, and the Newburyport District Nursing Service.  She also served as secretary at the Amesbury Methodist Church for over ten years.

Mrs. Pramberg's lifelong interest in history evolved into an interest in genealogy. She co-owned Parker River Researchers which reprinted histories and genealogies. She was also the author of several books of her own family history, two books on the cemeteries of Newburyport, several four-generation studies of families of the First Settlers of Newbury; and of several New Hampshire town vital record volumes. She was a life member of numerous historical and genealogical societies.

The Hamilton Room at the Newburyport Public Library, now known as the Archival Room, was one of the recipients of Mrs. Pramberg's volunteer activity and book donations.  She was also a Trustee of the Library until the family moved to New Hampshire.

From 1998 to 2010, she volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem for neglected and abused children in New Hampshire, an interest fostered by her late son James C. Pramberg, M.D.

Noreen was a devoted wife and mother and a delighted and loving grandmother.  She is survived by two sons and their wives, John W. and Eileen B. Pramberg of Newburyport, Mass. and Kingston, N.H., and Jay P. and Susan H. Pramberg of Newton, N.H.; a granddaughter, Julia M. Pramberg of Boston, Mass., and three grandsons, Michael P. Pramberg of Newton, N.H., James C. Pramberg II, of Newburyport, Mass. and Brennan J. W. Pramberg of Denver, Colo.  She leaves a niece Bobbi Jo Mespelt and her children, Darby and Daisha Scantling of Buffalo, Wyo. and two close cousins, Harold Mitchell of Ocala, Fla. and Wanda Owens of Crested Butte, Colo. She also leaves two dear friends, Meredith Thoenen of Newburyport and Cecile Pimental of Newbury. 

In addition to her husband and parents, she was predeceased by her son Dr. James C. Pramberg, sister Joan Lake, and nephew, Leslie Bennedict.  

We love the things we love for what they are!

Services and interment in Oak Hill Cemetery, Newburyport will be private, at the convenience of the family.  In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to Court Appointed Special Advocates for New Hampshire, P.O. Box 1327, Manchester, NH 03105. Arrangements are by Elliott, Woodworth & Rogers Family Funeral Home, 35 Green Street, Newburyport, MA.