Obituary for Sylvia Brand Knaup

Sylvia Brand  Knaup
Sylvia Brand Knaup, 65, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 in Columbia, Tennessee, after a courageous 15-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease.
Sylvia was born on August 20, 1950 in Salem, Virginia. She graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in Salem in 1968 and from the Boston Conservatory of Music in 1972, where she studied Opera. After graduation, Sylvia moved to New York City, where she began her career as a talented pop singer and met her husband of 32 years, Gunther Knaup, a gifted pianist. Sylvia and Gunther performed together in New York City and later in Nashville, Tennessee, until her illness rendered her unable to sing.
Sylvia brought much joy to her family and friends with her keen wit, her beautiful voice, her engaging showmanship, her cutting edge fashion sense and her ever-present positive attitude.
Sylvia is predeceased by her mother, Mairel Pichen Brand; her father, E. Cabell Brand; her stepmother, Shirley H. Brand; her parents in law, Dr. and Mrs. Rudolph and Elisabeth Knaup; her brothers, Edward C. Brand, Jr., Marshall C. Brand, Richard F. Pence, Jr., and John W. Pence; a sister, Ingrid Pichen Brand. She is survived by her husband, Gunther Knaup; sisters, Miriam Brand Kline (John), Caroline Brand Mateja and Liza Pence Urso; sisters in law Beth Brand, Dr. Renate Gloeckle and Susan Pence; nieces and nephews Brandon and Katie Kline; Cabell Keating Brand; Maggie, Patrick and Jack Mateja; Philip, Laura and Christin Urso; Rachel and Shelley Pence; and Thomas, Ben and Caleb Pence; many adoring cousins and a host of loving friends world-wide.
A service celebrating Sylvia’s life will be held at 11 am Saturday, June 3, 2017 at East Hill Cemetery in Salem. A reception will follow immediately following the service at the Salem Museum. Memorials may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at www.michaeljfox.org ; Total Action for Progress at www.tapintohope.org or Feeding America Southwest Virginia at 1025 Electric Road, Salem, VA. Many thanks to Mavis Daniels for her loving care of Sylvia.
Online condolences may be made at www.johnmoakey.com.
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