KNEPPER JAMES WALLACE, Jr. Passed away on Monday, May 30, 2016, at Providence Point, Scott Twp., PA, after a noble battle with cancer. He was born in Bellefonte, PA in 1932 to Leila Russell and James Wallace Knepper. He was a resident of Rosslyn Farms and later, Boiling Springs, PA, Fountain Hills, AZ and St. Michaels, MD. He leaves his beloved wife and best friend of 59 years, Janet Drummond, whom he married in 1957. He also leaves behind his four children, William J. Knepper and Laurie E. Knepper, MD both of Pittsburgh, James A. Knepper of Mt. Holly Springs, PA and Holly Bentley of Annapolis, MD. He also had five grandchildren, Savannah Knepper, Nick and Lizzy Bentley, and Sara and Mary Carter. He is survived by his brother, John Knepper of Gambier, OH; and his sister, Judy McKee of Bozeman, MT; and his two nephews, David McKee of Bozeman, MT and Rob McKee of Virginia. Jim Knepper graduated from Carnegie High School in 1950 and received a BA in Printing Management at Carnegie Tech (CMU). He was commissioned as an officer in the US Army Signal Corps Service with the 11th Airborne Division before joining the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. Returning from the service he joined his father at the Knepper Company which he later bought and founded Knepper Press Corporation. Jim Knepper was elected five times, as a state legislator from 1970-1980. Returning to Knepper Press in 1983, he sold their three weekly newspapers to the British owned Gateway Press. He was called upon by Governor Dick Thornburgh to serve in his cabinet as Human Resource Director and then Secretary of Labor and Industry, serving until the term ended in January 1987. He sold Knepper Press to his son, Bill Knepper. Jim and his wife, Janet traveled extensively throughout Europe, Russia, Hungary, Yugoslavia and later the British Isles, Caribbean Islands, all the US States except Alaska, as well as all of the Canadian Provinces. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, June 8, 2016, at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Nativity, 33 Alice St., Crafton, PA 15205 by the Reverend Canon Scott Quinn, Dean of Trinity Cathedral and Father Shawn Malarkey of Nativity. A celebration of Jim's life will be held immediately following the memorial service at Knepper Press Corporation, 2251 Sweeney Dr., Clinton, PA 15026. Maps to Knepper Press will be available at Nativity Church. HENNEY, BRADWELL AND NIRELLA FUNERAL HOME, Carnegie, PA will provide funeral arrangements. Interment will be private in Union Dale Cemetery on Pittsburgh's North Side. Memorial contributions, if desired, may be made to the Drummond Memorial Fund, Church of the Nativity, 33 Alice St., Crafton, PA 15205. henneybradwellnirella.com Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
