Arthur Jergen Prange

1926 - 2024

Arthur Jergen Prange

September 19, 1926 - April 6, 2024

Hillsborough, North Carolina - Arthur Jergen Prange, Jr., MD died on April 6, 2024 in Hillsborough, North Carolina, with family by his side. He was 97 years old.

Art's long, productive, and happy life began on September 19, 1926 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. His family suffered tremendous financial loss during the Great Depression, and experienced scarcity of resources in those years, as did so many. The Pranges, and the Elliotts on his maternal side, were industrious people and were able to get back on their feet economically, but many lessons from those hardships stayed with Art forever: frugality, self-reliance, determination, the importance of family love and support, and generosity to others were among those traits.

At East Grand Rapids High School, Art participated in track and basketball, twice awarded all-conference for the latter. After graduating high school at the age of 17, Art enlisted in the Navy during World War II. The war soon ended and he was then quickly sent to participate in Naval College Training (the V-12 program). He attended Muhlenberg College where he again starred in basketball, helping his team play in the National Invitational Tournament. He later transferred to Swarthmore College and then as a pre-med student transferred to the University of Michigan where he earned his MD in 1950. In the winter of 1949 Art married his college sweetheart, Sally Bowen. The Navy soon drafted Art to fulfill his commitment during the Korean War - not in Korea, but at the Naval Hospitals in Key West, FL and then in Norfolk, VA where he served as a lieutenant and the ship doctor on the USS Briareus. During the Navy years, Art and Sally welcomed their first two children, Christy and Marnie.

By the time his military service was completed in 1954 Art had decided to seek a residency in Psychiatry. He found his place in the first residency class of the newly formed Psychiatry Department at NC Memorial Hospital, the teaching hospital of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, NC. By the summer of 1959, Art and Sally had welcomed their third and fourth children, Laura and David.

Art's tenure at UNC spanned more than four decades, and his accomplishments as a researcher, teacher, and mentor are vast. His pioneering research mainly focused on the endocrine system function and its bidirectional relationship with depression. Art was recognized as a leader in this new field, bringing many inspired researchers to UNC seeking his mentorship. Today many psychiatry departments around the country benefit from the leadership of Art's former mentees. His research, which was largely supported by National Institutes of Health grants, is recognized to be foundational to the development of modern psychotropic medications. Over his career, which included international collaborative work in England, Italy, and Lithuania (to mention a few), Art published over 250 peer reviewed studies and he received numerous awards and recognitions.

Art's marriage to Sally ended amicably in 1989 and they remained friends, attending numerous family gatherings together, including reunions at Emerald Isle where he instructed his grandchildren in the fine points of baby-in-the-hole, bottle rocket launching, kite flying, and penny ante poker. In the mid-1990s Art reconnected with family friend, Margery Kay Cooper. They were married on Valentine's Day, 2008. Together they traveled the world, gardened, watched birds, maintained wood duck and bluebird houses, and visited each other's families. They were avid Carolina basketball fans and often attended home games. Art also remained an enthusiastic fan of Michigan football and displayed a shrine of UM artifacts while watching games on TV.

Art led opening day duck hunting expeditions to North Dakota, told stories, honed his skills as a landscape artist, and advanced his reputation as a philanthropist and bibliophile. His interests were wide and eclectic; his intellectual curiosity and passion for environmental causes have been inherited by his offspring.

Art Prange was predeceased by his parents, Arthur Jergen Sr., and Martha Elliott Prange, his sister, Joyce Prange Oppel, and his first wife, Sally Bowen Prange Wainwright. Sadly, his wife, Margery Kay Cooper, died 15 days after Art. She is buried by his side at Bluestem Cemetery, Cedar Grove, NC. Survivors include Art's children, Christy Prange Rappoport (Rick), Marnie Prange, Laura Prange (Rex Gandy), and David Prange (Ileana Ivan), along with eleven grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren; and his four step-children, Gail Hoyme, Jeff Hoyme, Steve Hoyme, and Karen Hoyme.

Art's burial took place on April 10th, 2024 with his four children and two sons-in-law in attendance. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Triangle Land Conservancy (www.triangleland.org).