Marianne B. Knipe

Marianne B. Knipe, 74, of Allentown, PA, died peacefully Saturday, February14th, 2026 in her home after a 17 month battle with cancer. She was the wife of Richard "Rick" J. Knipe, with whom she celebrated 40 years of marriage on August 15th, 2025. Born in Weehawken, NJ, she was the daughter of the late John P. and Sophie (Bloesch) Salacan. A 1970 graduate of St. Joseph of the Palisades High School, West New York, NJ, Marianne furthered her education receiving her BA in Art Education & Art History from Rutgers University and her MA in Art History from Kutztown University. Post graduation, she continued her studies by both attending and leading painting workshops in the United States and abroad. She worked as a wall covering designer in New York City at Decoration & Design and later for J. Joseph Inc, of South Hackensack NJ, creating silkscreened wall coverings designed for venues such as the Pierre Hotel as well as personal residences. Marianne loved children and enjoyed teaching elementary art for the Hillside School, Roosevelt Elementary School, and the Pennridge School District before retiring in 2016.

She was a signature member of the Pastel Society of New Jersey and the Parkland Art League, exhibited at the Salmagundi Club, and has received numerous

awards including the Distinguished Pastelist Award. She attended many artist residencies, traveling as far as Haiti, Romania, and France. Her work was exhibited widely in the United States and abroad, and is in collections in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. Her subjects for her art often included ruins in the countryside, stone farmhouses in Pennsylvania, rusted trucks in the Southwest, romantic arches in France, views of rotted trees, portraits of friends and new acquaintances, and the most magnificent clouds.

Marianne loved neighborhood walks with her family to hang out with the local farm cats and to watch for foxes. She loved to laugh and was a skeeball, trivia, and reading enthusiast. She showed a lot of love through food - her pumpkin muffins, biscotti, and her menagerie of cookies will be missed. She is missed.

Marianne is survived by her husband, Rick J. Knipe; her children, Eyre Knipe and their fiancée Martha Oelerich of Fountain Hill, PA, Margot Knipe Travers and her husband Kevin Travers of Queens, NY, and Kristi Knipe of Brooklyn, NY; her siblings, Barbara Bergamini of Fort Lee, NJ, Ronnie Furst of Sturbridge, MA, and James Salacan of Butler, NJ; her niece, Jennifer Bergamini and her husband Jerome Butler of New York, NY, her niece Emma Sage and her partner Scott Frost and children Evelyn and Frances Frost of Medford, MA, and her nephew, Craig Alimo of Richmond, CA.

Marianne is preceded by her sister Liz Salacan and her wife Beth Lewinter, and her beloved cat Freya.

Service: A Celebration of Marianne's Life & Memorial Art Show will be held Sunday, May 3, 2026 from 2:00PM to 5:00PM at Domaine Pterion, 6501 Saint Peters Road, Macungie, PA 18062. Arrangements are entrusted to Cantelmi Long Funeral, Bethlehem. Please record a memory at www.centelmifuneralhome.com.

Contributions: Memorials may be made in Marianne's memory to the Baum School of Art in Allentown, PA: https://the-baum-school-of-art.givecloud.co/fundraising/forms/8NDR96EK