A5 THE ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2021 OBITUARIES Carolyn Jean Knapp Astoria Nov 20, 1941 — March 9, 2021 Carolyn Jean (Thomassen) Knapp, of was a very active member of the Asto- Astoria, loving sister, wife, mother and ria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival grandmother, passed away peacefully at and the Lower Columbia Danish Soci- home on March 9, 2021, sur- ety. She developed many spe- rounded by her family. cial friendships from all of The oldest of three children these activities. of Bjarne and Margaret (Ras- Over the years, Carolyn mussen) Thomassen, Carolyn also taught Sunday school at was born shortly after Thanks- church, and served as a 4-H giving Day dinner on Nov. 20, leader, and was a Start Mak- 1941, in Port Angeles, Wash- ing A Reader Today reader ington. It would be the only in local schools, a cruise ship time in her 79 years that she host, a Court Appointed Spe- would get to celebrate her cial Advocate program volun- Carolyn Knapp birthday on Thanksgiving Day. teer and much more. In 1950, her father took a After her children started job building the Astoria Plywood Mill, school, Carolyn began working at Asto- which moved the family of fi ve to Asto- ria High School. She has helped many ria. Carolyn attended school in Astoria, students through their high school years, and graduated from Astoria High School and kept in touch with many of “her in 1960. kids.” She also worked for a short time She went on to attend Pacifi c Lutheran at Peter Pan Market, and enjoyed visit- University for one year, until she met ing with the neighborhood people. her future husband, while home on sum- Carolyn developed many dear friend- mer break. Carolyn married Lowell G. ships throughout her lifetime, but per- Knapp on Dec. 2, 1961, in Astoria; they haps the one she treasured most was celebrated 59 years of marriage this past the one she shared with her best friend, December. Becky Nelson. She and Becky were truly In 1964, the couple settled in the John sisters at heart, having both grown up Day area, building their forever home with only brothers. Carolyn’s family is along the waterfront in Fernhill, shortly especially grateful for Becky and the after their fi rst son’s birth. The family special friendship they shared. expanded later to fi ve, with the birth of Carolyn is survived by her husband two daughters. Later in life, Carolyn and of 59 years, Lowell. She is also survived Lowell adopted their oldest granddaugh- by a son and daughter-in-law, Robert ter, Cari, whom they raised from the time and Anita Knapp; and daughters and she was four months old until she went sons-in-law, Melinda (Mindy) and Keith off to college. Landwehr, Kimberly and Ben Lebeck It was important to Carolyn to pass and Cari and John McGrath. She leaves family traditions and her heritage onto behind her grandchildren, Jon Landwehr her family. One way that she did this was and great-grandson, Jameson, Nick through cooking, baking and Christmas (Haley) Landwehr and great-grandson, ornament making. Hudson, April (Jamie) Lebeck, Kaitlyn Unfortunately, her love of cooked (Mason) Hoover and Jason Lebeck. cabbage was not one that her family Carolyn is also survived by two broth- inherited. However, it did make a lasting ers and sisters-in-law, Dennis and Annie impression on her older grandchildren, Thomassen and Jim and Joy Thomas- who still remember the stinky smells that sen; brother-in-law, Mike Koskela; and would sometimes come from grandma’s sister-in-law, Joan Knapp. She is also kitchen. survived by many nephews, nieces and Carolyn also enjoyed sewing, knit- cousins, with whom she spent cherished ting, and needlepoint, as well as time in their younger years. scrap-booking. The family requests donations be Carolyn will be remembered for all made to h ospice, First Lutheran Church of her volunteer activities in our com- Memorial Fund or Astoria Scandinavian munity. She was very proud of her Nor- Heritage Association. wegian and Danish heritage, and worked A small service was held on March with her dear friend, Bonnie Ladd, over 12, 2021, at First Lutheran Church, the years, helping teach many, many which was recorded and can be viewed young people Scandinavian dance. by searching “Carolyn Knapp Memorial, Carolyn also danced in the adult 3-12-21” on YouTube.com or by request- group with her husband, Lowell. She ing a link from the family. Ng Han Guan/AP Photo Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization team holds up a chart showing pathways of transmission of the virus during a joint news conference at the end of the WHO mission in Wuhan, China. COVID-19 virus likely jumped to humans from animals, WHO says By JAMEY KEATEN and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press GENEVA — A joint World Health Organi- zation-China study on the origins of COVID- 19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is “extremely unlikely,” according to a draft copy obtained by the Associated Press. The fi ndings off er little new insight into how the virus fi rst emerged and leave many questions unanswered. But the report does provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers’ conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis — a speculative theory that was promoted by former President Donald Trump among oth- ers. It also said the role played by a seafood market where human cases were fi rst identi- fi ed was uncertain. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious diseases expert, said he would like to see the report’s raw information fi rst before deciding about its credibility. “I’d also would like to inquire as to the extent in which the people who were on that group had access directly to the data that they would need to make a determination,” he said. “I want to read the report fi rst and then get a feel for what they really had access to — or did not have access to.” The report, which is expected to be made public Tuesday, is being closely watched since discovering the origins of the virus could help scientists prevent future pandem- ics — but it’s also extremely sensitive since China bristles at any suggestion that it is to blame for the current one. Matthew Kavanagh of Georgetown Uni- versity said the report deepened the under- standing of the virus’s origins, but more information was needed. “It is clear that that the Chinese govern- ment has not provided all the data needed and, until they do, fi rmer conclusions will be CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS MONDAY APRIL 12 TH NOON diffi cult,” he said in a statement. Last year, an investigation by the Asso- ciated Press found the Chinese government was strictly controlling all research into its origins. And repeated delays in the report’s release have raised questions about whether the Chinese side was trying to skew its conclusions. “We’ve got real concerns about the meth- odology and the process that went into that report, including the fact that the government in Beijing apparently helped to write it,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a recent CNN interview. On Monday, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made an impassioned plea to Americans Monday not to let their guard down in the fi ght against COVID-19, saying she has a recurring feel- ing “of impending doom,” even as Presi- dent Joe Biden announced further eff orts to expand access to coronavirus vaccines. Speaking during a virtual White House briefi ng, Dr. Rochelle Walensky grew emo- tional as she refl ected on her experience treating COVID-19 patients who are alone at the end of their lives. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope,” she said. “But right now, I’m scared.” Cases of the virus are up about 10% over the past week from the previous week, to about 60,000 cases per day, with both hospi- talizations and deaths ticking up as well, Wal- ensky said. She warned that without imme- diate action the U.S. could follow European countries into another spike in cases and suf- fer needless deaths. Later Monday, Biden addressed the nation from the White House, declaring, “If we let our guard down now, we can see the virus getting worse, not better. People are letting up on precautions, which is a very bad thing.” Biden delivered a direct appeal to gov- ernors, state and local leaders to reinstate mask-wearing requirements if they have eased them. 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Seattle 51 35 61 42 51 37 Periods of sun; Cloudy to partly Rain and drizzle cool sunny 51 38 52 38 Variable cloudiness Showers possible 50 38 49 38 A chance of rain Showers possible Aberdeen Olympia 52/32 54/36 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 55/30 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Sunday Tonight’s Sky: Cancer, the Crab, below the Big Dipper, along with Leo, the Lion. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 47/40 Normal high/low .................. 55/40 Record high .................. 75 in 1941 Record low .................... 28 in 1987 Precipitation Sunday ..................................... 0.57” Month to date ........................ 4.81” Normal month to date ......... 6.80” Year to date .......................... 32.76” Normal year to date ........... 24.19” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 Time High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 2:56 a.m. 3:35 p.m. 8.9 9:33 a.m. -0.5 8.0 9:36 p.m. 0.8 Cape Disappointment 2:31 a.m. 3:06 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 6:59 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 7:42 p.m. Moonrise today ........... 10:37 p.m. Moonset today ............... 8:16 a.m. Last New First Full 2:43 a.m. 3:18 p.m. Warrenton 2:51 a.m. 3:30 p.m. Knappa 3:33 a.m. 4:12 p.m. Depoe Bay Apr 4 Apr 11 Apr 19 Apr 26 1:44 a.m. 2:21 p.m. 9.0 8:37 a.m. -0.6 8.0 8:42 p.m. 0.9 9.3 8:57 a.m. -0.7 8.4 9:03 p.m. 0.6 9.4 9:17 a.m. -0.4 8.4 9:20 p.m. 0.9 9.2 10:34 a.m. -0.4 8.2 10:37 p.m. 0.6 9.2 8:07 a.m. -0.7 8.2 8:11 p.m. 0.8 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Wed. Hi/Lo/W 69/61/pc 57/47/s 61/34/pc 78/49/pc 40/24/c 82/71/sh 83/69/sh 83/60/s 86/75/pc 60/47/s 86/58/s 74/53/s 69/56/s 73/38/t 63/49/r 45/25/s 66/41/pc 51/29/s 82/70/sh 69/47/t 88/64/s 85/71/pc 63/41/r 88/62/s 77/53/s 64/44/r Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 56/33 Hermiston The Dalles 61/28 Enterprise Pendleton 46/25 56/32 60/33 La Grande 51/26 56/33 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W 48/30 Kennewick Walla Walla 55/36 Lewiston 62/29 56/29 Salem Pullman 60/29 Longview 51/35 Portland 57/35 50/30 Yakima 61/31 55/30 Astoria Spokane 56/34 Corvallis 58/33 Albany 57/32 John Day Eugene Bend 58/32 58/31 51/27 Ontario 57/28 Caldwell Burns 51/21 54/28 Medford 67/36 Klamath Falls 58/22 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 54/23/s 62/46/s 50/38/pc 57/32/pc 51/36/pc Wed. Hi/Lo/W 62/32/s 61/46/s 60/43/c 68/39/pc 58/42/s City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 54/40/s 62/35/s 51/35/pc 59/31/pc 57/32/pc Wed. Hi/Lo/W 63/44/s 75/41/s 64/42/c 70/42/s 68/41/pc