Sylvia Markelz-Pirtle, 31, of Garner Valley and Idyllwild, died last week in Palm Springs.
She was born Oct. 26, 1975 in Placer, to Ralph and Sandra Markelz. Sylvia grew up in San Diego and moved to Idyllwild from Palm Desert full-time in 1998.
She worked as a room parent at Idyllwild School, was a basketball team mom, and Girl Scout troop leader of Troop 295.
In 2002, Sylvia met her husband, Josch Pirtle, who was raised in Idyllwild, when Sylvia brought her daughter to a kindergarten end-of-the-school-year party that Josch’s mother hosted for his kindergarten-aged sister and her class. They were married June 5, 2003.
Sylvia underwent emergency surgery in September 2006 to remove a brain tumor. She spent the last seven months in Indio where she was treated, and ultimately lost her battle with brain cancer.
A celebration of her life is planned for later in May in Idyllwild.
Along with her parents she is survived by her husband, Josch Pirtle of Idyllwild; their son, Patrick Markelz Pirtle of Idyllwild; her daughter, Samandra Markelz; and a brother, Richard Markelz.