Marialana Strothers Knorpp

On Sunday August 13, 2023, Marialana Strothers Knorpp succumbed to heart failure @ UCSF Medical Center after a lifetime battle with Hodgkins disease. All throughout her life she fought the good fight with the affliction of Hodgkins, starting at the age of 16, with a remission at 23 yrs. old and then bouts of breast cancer as an adult. Having grown-up primarily in West Orange, New Jersey, she moved west after an initial series of cancer treatments at Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, the University of Texas Medical Center and finally to Stanford Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA, while finishing high school at St. Francis High in Mountain View, CA. In early 1989, she met her future husband, John and got married shortly thereafter (1990), moving to Walnut Creek, CA.

It was there she continuously supported the Wellness Community Center by donating numerous hours consulting with young cancer survivors by sharing her inspirational life story. She also raised cancer awareness through fundraising walks and even did a twenty plus miles cross country skiing event in Alaska. She proved over and over again her loving, courageous fight to help support her fellow cancer patients.

When she started something she was passionate about, she was all in. That holds true especially in regard for her love of teaching the subject of English & literature to high school students @ College Park High, Pleasant Hill, CA. She served 18 years of teaching in the Mt. Diablo School district (16 years @ College Park).

At College Park, she became Department Chair for a few years while earning her Masters degree @ St. Mary's University in Moraga, Ca. Her love for poetry, literature, the origins of the language and all things to do with England, made for a thought provoking and challenging classroom. In many ways, she was a teenager at heart, often questioning the authorities and the "powers at be", which sometimes landed her in hot water with the traffic cops! She encouraged in her students to take on social injustices and norms and not to take them at face value. After approx. 20 years in her profession of teaching, she retired by the ocean she loved so much in Bodega Bay, CA.

We will sorely miss her beautiful big smile, warm welcoming hugs, infectious laughter, love of life, grace and simple elegance. Marialana was deeply loved by her husband, John W Knorpp, her extended family and as a special friend to so many.

She was also a great and caring Cocker Spaniel Mom, who raised 5 pups over the years.

In lieu of flowers, please consider sending donations "In Loving Memory of Marialana Strothers Knorpp" to the Boys & Girls Club of America and KQED.

A memorial service will be announce when arrangements are finalized.

Please contact John Knorpp at Jklandart@gmail.com