Diane Mae Martarano

Longtime Novato resident Dianne Mae Martarano, a piano instructor in Marin County for more than 30 years, passed away suddenly on Dec. 12, 2025 at Marin Community Hospital after a short illness.
A native of San Jose, Dianne, 73, operated Dianne and the Piano Players out of her home in Novato, enriching the lives of her students from pre-teens to seniors. She enjoyed a life of music and the arts from a young age, playing the guitar and piano in coffee houses as a teen in San Jose in the 1960s and performing high school theater. After attending Pioneer High School in San Jose and then being part of Reno's Hug High School's first graduating class in 1970, she worked a variety of retail jobs in Santa Cruz and the Bay Area, including Gianni Versace and Bally Shoes in San Francisco. She was also an art teacher at Bonny Doon Elementary School in Santa Cruz and then taught for more than 10 years at Brandeis Marin Day School in San Rafael.
Dianne enjoyed traveling to San Francisco for theater and musical events like the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival, tending her garden and making frequent trips to the ocean, particularly Muir Beach and Point Reyes National Seashore.
Dianne's parents, Carmen and Carmella Martarano, preceded her in death almost 20 years ago. She is survived by sons, Samuel Martarano (Cece) of Auburn; Gregory Junek (Rhiannon), Atlanta; brother, Steve Martarano (Sharon), Sacramento; and five beloved grandchildren – Emma, Donovan, Sophia, Harvey and JoJo. Through all of her life journeys, she accumulated a number of lifelong friendships, who remain saddened by her passing.
A memorial celebration is being planned for a later date in the spring.