Cecile N. Pimental

Cecile Nancy (Gallant) Pimental passed away peacefully on April 27th 2026. She was born in Ipswich, Ma to Albany J. and Hilda Gallant on September 5, 1932. She grew up in Ipswich and then Parker River in Newbury. She attended Newburyport Highschool and furthered her education at Fanny Farmer’s Cooking School in Boston. She never strayed far from her roots after that.

She met her husband, Jerome Pimental while working at the family drug store on the corner of Purchase Street and Lime Street in Newburyport. They married January, 17, 1958. With the help of family, they built a house in Newbury in 1962 and raised their family.

Cecile wore many hats over the years. She took calligraphy classes and became very proficient at addressing envelopes and cards. She always had exceptional penmanship. She opened a gift shop for a couple of years called “The Elf Shelf”. And with the help of her father, she became involved with miniature houses and the like. They made a replica of the Governor Dummer school house and several other miniature projects.

Cecile was a longtime member of Newbury and a cherished figure in the Greater Newburyport community. For 43 years she served as historian and archivist at the Newburyport Public Library, where she played a pivotal role in establishing the library’s Archival Center. Originally the remodeled Hamilton Room in the basement, the center opened in 1983 as a dedicated space for local history and genealogy research. She retired in January 2014 but remained deeply connected to the library’s mission.

A respected genealogy master, Cecile co-authored with Noreen C. Pramberg (one of her dearest friends) the book “Four Generations of the Descendants of John Webster of Ipswich in 1635 (1984), a detailed genealogical study tracing the first four generations of one of Ipswich’s earliest English settlers and their families in the Newbury-Ipswich area. She later authored “The Mary P. Mesquita: Rundown at Sea – A True Tale of a Gloucester Schooner” (1998), which recounted the dramatic 1909 collision and sinking of the Gloucester fishing schooner Mary P. Mesquita after it was rammed by the Cunard steamship Saxonia in dense fog, preserving the personal stories of the Portuguese-American crew members and their families. She served as registrar for the Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury. Also she generously donated the “Cecile Gallant Pimental Collection” – including family photographs, artifacts, and historical materials related to her grandfather H. Chester Saunders’ drug store in Newburyport to the library’s archives. Her expertise helped countless researchers trace their roots and preserve the rich history of Newburyport’s clipper-ship era, neighborhood stores and historic homes.

She is predeceased by her brother John Gallant of Newbury. She is survived by her daughters Michelle Pimental of Newburyport, Heather Paul and husband Brad of Beverly; her granddaughter Tiffany Monteforte and her children Alexandra, Marissa and Zachery of Newbury; also her daughter-in-law Sheri Pimental of Huntsville, AL along with her sons Tyler Pimental of Gurley, AL, Sean Pimental and his wife Erin and their children Aislin, Ardan and Anora of Huntsville, AL, and her daughter Rachael Pimental of Huntsville, AL. She was also the loving aunt of many nieces and nephews.

We would like acknowledge and thank the staff at Advinia Care on Low Street in Newburyport for their unwavering support and care for Cecile while she was at the facility. They are the unsung heroes attending to those who are elderly and sick in that “waiting room” for heaven. We thank them all from the bottom of our hearts. 

The burial service will be private. A celebration of life will be at Tuscan Sea Grill in Newburyport at 1:00pm-4:00pm. All are welcome. Please RSVP to: In Memory of Cecile Pimental (https://everloved.com/life-of/cecile-pimental/

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Cecile’s memory to the Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury, P. O.Box 44, Newburyport, MA 01950 or to Merrimack Feline Rescue Society.