Maryellen Monzo Thorp

Maryellen Monzo Thorp, a driven business woman committed to the wellness of her customers, left this life on December 15, 2024 after a long battle with illness. She was 63.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 10, 1961 to Helen and Edward Monzo, Maryellen graduated from Severna Park Senior High School, and obtained an Associate of Arts degree from Anne Arundel Community College between 1980 and 1982. She married Frank Thorp IV in 1982, and traveled the world with Frank, a commissioned officer in the Navy. The two divorced in 1997.

Shortly after having two children in the 80s, Maryellen began her lifelong career in wellness as a group exercise instructor, eventually opening an aerobics studio named Body Works with her then-husband, Frank, in Coronado, California in the 1990s.

But it was Eastern medicines that became Maryellen’s passion after she successfully fought Hodgkin’s disease at the age of 29. Once in remission, Maryellen faced questions about her future health and how to navigate a world after fighting for her life, and found solace in the practice of massage therapy.

“Massage put me in touch with my body. I think a lot of people spend a lot of time trying not to feel their bodies and so feel disconnected. Massage calmed me down and quieted my mind,” she told the Washington Post in 2008 for an article about her massage practice, “I like to say that Western medicine saved my life, but Eastern medicine healed the rest of me.”

After moving to Virginia, she became the Group Exercise Director at Old Town Sport and Health from 1996 to 2003, managing a team of instructors as well as teaching classes herself. While working, she dedicated her free time to studying Applied Kinesiology Studies, specializing in Massage Therapy, and received a CMT (Certified Massage Therapist) qualification between 1998 and 1999.

She poured that passion and expertise into her second small business, The Healing Tree, a hub for massage therapy and therapeutic body work in the center of Del Ray, Virginia, a business which some credited with being at the forefront of the wellness boom in the charming DC suburb.

“Sometimes we are working with clients who are in pain, or recovering from surgery and sometimes we work with clients who just want a healing place to exhale and relax,” Maryellen wrote about her business, “Either way, The Healing Tree is there for all.”

The Healing Tree, founded in 2002, grew at one point to two locations, where Maryellen oversaw a team of professionals consisting of massage therapists, acupuncturists, a chiropractor, and a psychotherapist. The Healing Tree closed in 2023.

Maryellen loved music, laughter, her many pets, and movies (and movie theater popcorn in particular). She began her partnership with Kellie O’Brien in 2001, and the two raised their son in Del Ray before separating in 2014.

Maryellen is survived by her children Frank, Brittany, and Aiden, her grandchildren Adelaina, Newell, and Monroe, siblings Nancy Monza and Chris Monzo, her nieces, Madelyn and Natalie, and her dearest friend Melissa Gouffray.

A celebration of life will be conducted at a later date. In her honor, her family welcomes donations to the Inova Life with Cancer program, which provides free and reduced cost massages to oncology patients.

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