Sara Norberg

1941 - 2025

Sara Norberg

Concord, NH - Sara Lee Norberg, 83, of Concord, New Hampshire, died on March 4, 2025, less than six months after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of frontotemporal dementia.

Sara was born Nov. 20, 1941, in Plattsburgh, New York, to Mildred (Wheeler) Derrick and John Cromley Derrick. Shortly before the birth of her brother, John Jr. (Jack), the family moved to Troy, New York, where Sara spent a happy childhood taking voice lessons, playing piano, and riding her horses Twinkle, Star, and Trixie. A tomboy despite her mother's best efforts - she loved to recount the story of rescuing her brother from a bolting horse by riding up alongside him and pulling him onto her saddle, and of the friendship she developed with her grade-school janitor because she was sent out in the hallway so frequently for being disruptive - she nonetheless grew up to both sit on the homecoming court and serve as vice president of her graduating class.

Sara stayed in Troy to attend Russell Sage College, where she sang with the Sagettes and earned her degree in physical therapy in 1963. She married her childhood sweetheart, Donald Allan Waterfield Jr., that same year and the couple had the first two of their three children, daughters Amanda and Kristin, while Allan was stationed with the Navy in Bainbridge, Maryland. The family moved to Durham, New Hampshire, in 1970 and was subsequently completed by the arrival of son Lance. While her children were young, Sara worked part time as a physical therapist. Once Lance was in kindergarten, she launched a full-time career that included positions in school and nursing home settings, with the Visiting Nurses Association, and in a private practice, where she was admired by patients and referring physicians alike for her empathetic but no-nonsense style.

Sara and Allan divorced in 1981. Seven years later, Sara met and quickly married the love of her life, Michael Ernest Norberg, an Air Force captain turned commercial pilot to whom she had been introduced on a blind date. Mike brought a son, Eric, to the marriage, as well an 1871 Colonial home in Dover, New Hampshire, that had been in his family for three generations. Sara and Mike spent 27 happy years together, living first in Dover, then in Durham, and finally in Concord, where they moved to the Havenwood-Heritage Heights community in 2008. Before Mike's death in July 2016, the couple enjoyed many overseas adventures, winters in Florida, and summers traveling to art shows, where Mike sold his nautical-themed oil paintings and pen-and-ink sketches. Following his death, Sara had one of his pen-and ink-lighthouses tattooed onto her left calf, and kept herself busy serving on various Havenwood committees, volunteering with Concord's New American student population, learning sign language, and singing with the Havenwood chorus.

Sara now joins her beloved Michael, her parents, and her younger brother, Jack. She leaves behind her daughter Amanda Waterfield, partner Adam Wright, and children Andrew and Laura; her daughter Kristin Duisberg, husband Erik Duisberg, and children Quinn and Henry; her son Lance Waterfield, wife Joelle Kaufman, and children Ada and Elsie; and her stepson Eric Norberg and wife Nancy Norberg. She also leaves behind a vast circle of friends dating back to her days in Troy who join her family in missing her warmth, beauty, social butterfly personality, and quick, sardonic wit.

A memorial service is planned for Friday, March 21, at the First Congregational Church of Concord, 79 Clinton Street, at 2:00 p.m. Friends are invited to attend a reception at Havenwood following the service. She will be interred with her husband at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen at a later date.

Sara's family is deeply grateful to Havenwood for the more than 16 years of friendship and community it provided to her, and particularly to the staff of the Health Services Center for the loving and compassionate care she received in her final months. If desired, memorial donations in Sara's name may be made to Havenwood Heritage Heights, 33 Christian Ave., Concord 03301.