Obituary: Tamara Sue (Tone) Knapp

Tamara Sue (Tone) Knapp

Tamara Sue (Tone) Knapp

Tami Knapp, 58, passed away Sept. 11, 2017, with her sisters at her side. Born Jan. 13, 1959, in Eugene, Oregon, Tami’s family lived briefly in South Africa before moving to Prescott in 1969. After graduating Prescott High School in 1977, she married Vernon Knapp. She worked as telephone operator for Mtn. Bell, transferring to Phoenix when the Prescott office closed, and retired from Qwest 30 years later in 2008.

The diagnosis of Stage IV cancer 10 years ago allowed her to grow and experience life in a fashion she would not have done otherwise. She traveled to New Zealand, ran the Colorado River, visited the East Coast with friends, and took road trips with her sisters. She volunteered with Hospice in Phoenix and moved back to Prescott in 2014 to help care for her mother. Tami, a gifted yet unassuming artist, worked in watercolors, pastels, and other mediums. She also played clarinet in the Yavapai College Community Band and was learning the French horn. Throughout all her medical issues, she kept her sense of humor, and kind, compassionate nature.

We remember her as the supreme party planner. Tami enjoyed making people happy and having fun with friends. She planned the annual Kids Party for grandnieces and grandnephews complete with costumes, skits, handmade decorations and party favors. She loved Scrabble and belonged to several board game groups. Her high school girlfriends considered her the glue that sustained their friendship for 43 years by planning trips and special mother-daughter luncheons.

Tami is predeceased by her father, Richard Tone (1990); mother, Jean (Nichols) Tone (2016); and husband, Vern (2016). Survivors include a brother, Richard (Lycrisia) Tone; sisters, Gini Norgard, Susan Tone, and Molly (Gary) Parrott; nine nieces and nephews; 22 grandnieces and grandnephews; mother-in-law; three sisters-in-law; and many lifelong friends.

If you wish to donate in her memory, please consider Heritage Park Zoo, or do what Tami loved best — spend time with a child. Services to take place at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 7, 2017, at the Prescott Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 945 Rancho Vista Drive.

Information provided by survivors.


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