John “Jack” Karl Pribram
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. and Norway – John “Jack” Karl Pribram, 85, died of Alzheimer’s Disease peacefully at home on June 3, 2026, with his wife of 63 years, Hope Brown Pribram, by his side. He is remembered for being sweet-natured and patient, his brilliant mind for physics, and the joy he found in being with family and friends.
He was born in Chicago in 1941, the first child of Karl Harry Pribram and Helen Bermingham Pribram. They instilled in him an appreciation for music and a curiosity that was an inspiration for his later career as a professor. Karl’s work in neuroscience eventually brought them to Connecticut where Jack attended Wethersfield High School before going to Middlebury College in Vermont. Jack thrived being in an intellectually stimulating, small liberal arts school. Middlebury shaped his future in two important ways – he knew he wanted a career teaching in a similar environment, and more notably it is where he met Hope. They were married in June of 1963.
After college, Jack pursued his passion for physics, earning his master’s degree at Wesleyan University and completing his doctorate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Their first daughter, Sarah Hope, was born in 1968 while they were living in Amherst and their second daughter Margaret Ann “Megan” was born in 1974 in Maine.
Jack’s love of teaching physics brought him to Bates College in 1970. During his time at Bates, he was Department Chair, Division Chair, Associate Dean of the Faculty, and served on many committees. He accompanied students on a trip to the Galapagos Islands, he was a Mellon Fellow, a Danforth Associate, and spent sabbaticals at the University of Illinois and Dartmouth College. During his last sabbatical at the University of Virginia (UVA), he and Hope decided Charlottesville would be a wonderful place to live. After retiring from Bates as Professor Emeritus in 2007, he spent another 12 years teaching part-time at UVA.
In Charlottesville, Hope and Jack enjoyed making friends in their new community through St. Paul’s Memorial Church, volunteering, and in the last two years at the Colonnades. In retirement they enjoyed spending winter months on St. Simon’s Island in Georgia, traveling to Prague, Vienna, the British Isles, Costa Rica, and Belize. Some of their most cherished memories are of summers spent with friends and family on Lake Pennesseewassee in Norway, Maine. Jack particularly loved hiking, running 5k races birdwatching (including participating in the annual Maine Audubon loon count), researching genealogy, and listening to music.
Jack was preceded in death by his mother Helen; his father Karl; his sister Joan Pribram-Jones; his brother Bruce Pribram; his sister-in-law Ann Lowrey and brother-in-law Fred Lowrey; his father-in-law Paul Brown and mother-in-law Althea Brown.
He leaves loving memories with those who remain: his wife Hope (Charlottesville, Va.); his daughter Sarah Pribram and her husband Eric Darling (Shelburne, Vt.); his daughter Megan Pribram and her husband Aaron Cockle (Brooklyn, N.Y.); his brother Karl S. Pribram and wife Sweta Arora; his sister Cynthia Pribram-Byrne; his father Karl’s partner Katherine Neville; his nieces and nephews and their families: Doug and Kerri Lowrey, Aurora Pribram-Jones and David Gross, Tom Pribram-Jones and Orawan Pribram-Jones, and Andrew Pribram-Riddell; and his many dear cousins and friends.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Memorial Church in Charlottesville on Sunday, July 19, 2026, at 2 p.m. There will be a celebration of life later this summer in Norway. His family would like to thank Jack’s amazing caregivers from Attentive Quality Care, the staff at Hospice of the Piedmont, and the incredible team at The Colonnades.
An online guestbook is available at http://www.compassionatecremationva.com
Compassionate Cremation Services of Ruckersville, Va., is honored to serve the family.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to:
St. Paul’s Memorial Church 1701 University Ave, Charlottesville, VA 22903 or: the Norway Historical Society 471 Main St., Norway, ME 04268 or: a fund to support student reseach at Bates College go to bates.edu/giving, designate “other” and type “Jack Pribram and George Ruff Fund for Student Research”
