Diana S. Knepper

Diana Knepper, age 85, of Moon Township, PA, sadly passed away on January 31, 2025.  Diana was born on March 20, 1939, in Erie, PA to Joseph and Verneil “Sonny” Restifo.    

Diana graduated from McDowell High School in 1957, and then proceeded to graduate from Edinboro College, later earning her Master’s degree from Kent State.  She went on to a diverse and rewarding career including work in the great Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s (with the Canton, OH Urban League), the Ford Foundation and Council of Governments in Washington, D.C., ownership of her own boutique (Texas by Design), and social work with El Buen Samaritano in Austin, TX and the Pressley Ridge School in Pittsburgh.  She ended her career with many years as a Training Manager for KTA-Tator in Pittsburgh, before her retirement in her mid-70’s.

Diana was also a gifted writer, having written a major drug education curriculum for teachers in the greater Washington, D.C. area in the early 1970’s, where she trained high school teachers on the awareness needed to prevent drug dependency in teens.  But her most major accomplishment was the publishing of her semi-autobiographical novel - “Mr. Lincoln, Butch, and Buffalo”.  

Diana married James Edward (Jim) Knepper in December of 1960, then gave birth to her only child, James Joseph (Jim) Knepper in late 1961.  Diana was a very loving and supportive mother and took the job of parenting as her most serious responsibility. 

Diana was preceded in death by her parents and her ex-husband James Edward Knepper, along with her very dear sisters Nancy Venable and Michele Boslett, sometimes referred to as “The Rigatoni Sisters”.

She is survived by her only son, Jim Knepper (Linda), along with grandchildren Erin Cardello (Sean), Michelle Pitaro (Paul), Kelly King (Tucker), and Jimmy Knepper Jr. (fiancée Madison Foster), in addition to her great-grandchildren Enzo, Marco, and Camilla, as well as nieces Katherine Honish, Kathi Welch, Leslie Tomlinson, Tricia Barnes, and nephew Michael Venable.

A memorial Mass will be held at 9:30 am on Saturday, February 15th at St. Margaret Mary Church - Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Moon Township.  All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org).

Arrangements entrusted to R. D. Copeland, Inc., Moon Township.