Olivia Knoble

A loving and devoted wife, mother, sister, aunt, cousin, and dear friend to many in her community, Olivia “Livi” Knoble, 67, of Lancaster, CA, passed away in Palmdale, CA on July 10th, 2024.

Olivia was born in Santa Monica, CA on December 27th, 1956, to Marcelino Viramontes and Dolores Gonzalez. She was the third of nine children and quickly earned the title as the “favorite.” Olivia was a compassionate little sister to Tere and Chava and a fierce older sister to Alex, Veronica, Edith, Mary Lou, Julie, and Marcie.

From a young age, Olivia instinctively stepped into leadership roles and handled the responsibility with tenacity and grace. From earning the award of Miss French Fry at her first job at McDonalds to being the first in her family to attend a university, Olivia was a trailblazer. She attended St. Gerard Majella and St. Bernard High School before studying at Santa Monica College where she earned an AA degree in Early Childhood Education. She then majored in Early Childhood Education at CSULA and was 18 units shy of her degree. Her innate desire to care for her family led to the decision to pause her schooling and work full time.

Upon the passing of her mother in 1984, Olivia once again stepped up to assist her father in caring for her younger siblings. This was a tremendous responsibility, and the sacrifice does not go unnoticed by her family. Olivia accepted this new role with her whole heart. She bought back to school clothes, Halloween costumes, planned bridal showers, baby showers, countless birthday parties and summer getaways that her father probably did not know about. She gave so much of herself and found pleasure in bringing smiles to those around her. Her passing has broken the link in a chain that was thought to be unbreakable. Her siblings are forever changed, but forever grateful to have had Olivia as a sister.

Olivia then met the love of her life, John Knoble, in 1987. They were introduced by Olivia’s cousin, Louie, at a family Easter BBQ. Olivia knew instantly that John was meant to be her husband and they began dating immediately until they married on March 16th, 1991, at St. Gerard Majella Roman Catholic Church. Excited to start their new life together, they bought their first home in Rosamond, CA in 1992 and remained in the Antelope Valley community ever since.

Olivia was also a supportive and loving stepmother to John’s two beautiful daughters, Shannon and Kristen, who were ages 6 and 3 at the time Olivia met John. Olivia cherished all the time she was able to spend bonding with her stepdaughters when they would visit and loved them as her own. Then their family was finally complete when they welcomed their son, John Marcel, into the world on December 20th, 1995. The arrival of John was especially important because having a son meant having the ability to carry on the Knoble name for generations to come, something Olivia was so proud to make happen for her husband, John. Olivia would often talk about what a miracle and blessing it was for her to experience pregnancy, birth, and the ongoing bond between mother and child.

Olivia then felt blessed again to be promoted to a proud grandmother, or “Lita”, to her grandchildren, John Marcel Jr. “JJ”, Jax, Nikki, Owen, and Aidan. Olivia treasured her time with her grandchildren and never failed to provide hugs, kisses, snuggles, piles of presents, over the top birthday cakes, and celebrations of all her grandchildren’s milestones.

For almost 30 years, Olivia enjoyed a successful career as a customer service agent at phone provider, GTE (now Verizon). She had an incredible work ethic and a very special way of connecting with people to make every interaction with her a positive one. After retiring from Verizon, she went on to become a paraeducator within Rosamond High School’s special education and WorkAbility programs for almost 10 years. The work Olivia did to help children and their family’s overcome adversity and achieve educational equity was probably her greatest contribution to the community that will be felt by many for decades to come. 

Olivia was vibrantly social and was always present and supportive of those she cared about. Olivia will always be remembered for her role to many as their “second mom,” and for being a person who deeply cared about others without ever an expectation of receiving anything in return. We couldn’t have asked for a better person to bless all our lives, and we will miss Olivia every day. Her memory will live on in the hearts of all those who loved her.