Greg Knell, longtime Marin education trustee, dies at 76

Greg Knell, an outspoken Marin education advocate and schools official for nearly two decades, died Jan. 5 of complications from an infection. He was 76.

Mr. Knell, who served 17 years as a trustee on the San Rafael Board of Education and for the past two years as an elected member of the Marin County Board of Education, was an active contributor to the county’s education scene, said John Carroll, the county superintendent of schools.

“Greg’s passing was a surprise to all of us here at MCOE,” Carroll said. “It was a unique privilege to have Greg Knell on the Marin County Board of Education for the last two years.”

Carroll said Mr. Knell was “a courageous advocate for all students and for our public school system.”

“We could count on him to speak his mind even on controversial topics,” Carroll said. “But Greg also had the rare ability and willingness to consider others’ views and work collaboratively in the best interests of students and the community as a whole.”

The board will vote Tuesday on whether to hold a special election to fill Mr. Knell’s seat or to go through the provisional appointment process.

Vickie Knell, his wife of 38 years, said she was heartbroken, not just for herself and her family, but also for her husband’s colleagues, friends and the students who benefited from his service.

“It’s a really big loss,” said Knell, a classified staff member at Terra Linda High School. “Everybody loved him, and he loved the community. He really believed in supporting education.”

Mr. Knell’s brother Derek, the housing director at the Novato Unified School District, is a former Novato schools trustee. For a number of years, the brothers served at the same time on the boards of two of Marin’s largest school districts.

“Greg didn’t sit still if something needed to be said or done,” Derek Knell said. “He didn’t think ignoring things was a good idea.”

“He always felt that the better informed people were, the better off they were,” he said.

Gregory Gerald Knell was born on Oct. 28, 1948, in southern California, the first of seven children born to Frederick and Dora Knell. At the time, Frederick Knell was attending the University of Southern California.

After graduation, the family grew steadily over the next few decades as it moved around to support Frederick Knell’s publishing business.

Mr. Knell attended the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1970, Mr. Knell, a self-proclaimed hippie and the student body president, was arrested during a protest against the Vietnam War. He was put on trial for allegedly burning a bank building.

Mr. Knell maintained that he was framed, and he was acquitted at trial. He said in a 2007 interview with the Independent Journal that he had nothing to do with the bank fire.

Both sons followed in their mother’s footsteps politically, said former San Rafael school board trustee Bruce Raful, who preceded Mr. Knell on the board. Dora Knell, who died in 2022 at the age of 98, was a force in Marin politics.

“The thing about Greg, in particular, is that a lot of people in politics want to run for office because they like being famous or being known,” Raful said. “Greg was interested in education, and so he found this little niche in the education community of San Rafael.”

“It was a real blessing to have him on it,” Raful said, referring to the board. “Certainly the education community in Marin will be a lot less for his passing.”

In addition to his wife, two children and Derek Knell, Mr. Knell is survived by his sisters Cataliane Knell of Los Angeles, Theodora Carringello of Missouri, Valerie Basso of San Francisco and Vivian Knell of Illinois; his brother Geoffrey Knell of Nevada; and an extended family.

A service is planned on Feb. 1 at Keaton’s Redwood Chapel of Marin at 1801 Novato Blvd. in Novato. A time has not been set.