Frances Elizabeth Guzzie Knapp – formerly of Monessen

Fran was born on Sept. 13, 1940, in Fairhope to George Guzzie and June Rose Bohy. She joined her parents in Heaven on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019, after a long battle with Alzheimers. Fran’s dad worked in the steel industry in Monessen and he and June Rose built their home themselves board by board. They lived in the basement as soon as they could cover it to keep the rain and cold out. When Fran graduated from Rostraver High School, in Belle Vernon, in 1958, her parents could not afford a college education, so she attended Robert Morris Business School in Pittsburgh. With a secretarial certificate in hand, she landed her first job in the typing section at U.S. Steel Corporation in Pittsburgh. Within a year she was promoted to a secretarial position providing backup for executive secretaries to vice presidents. By 1967, Fran was ready for bigger things and packed her bags, bought a new Rambler American car and with no job in hand, headed for the state of California. When she arrived in Newport Beach, Calif., she met with one of her Rostraver High School classmates who convinced her to apply for a job with the Aeronutronic Division of the Ford Motor Company. Fran continued her travels up to San Francisco, but after a solid week of rain she had enough and called Aeronutronic to see if they were interested in hiring her. They were, and she returned to Newport Beach, where she became secretary to the Manager of Ordnance Programs, where her future husband worked as an engineering supervisor. After Fran’s marriage to Richard in 1971, Fran worked in the computer industry in Irvine, Calif., first, as secretary to the vice president and general manager of Sperry Univac Mini-Computer Operations and later as the Facility Manager for Computer Consoles Inc. In 1991, following a move to Maryland, Fran, at age 51, entered College. Two years later, she graduated Magna Cum Laude with an associate of arts degree from Anne Arundel Community College. Fran and Richard traveled extensively in Europe and Asia, including finding some of her living relatives in eastern Slovakia where her grandfather had emigrated from in 1900. Fran is survived by her husband and four stepchildren, Timothy Knapp, Robert Knapp, Fern Rouintree and Kenneth Knapp, plus 10 grandchildren. Fran will be interned at Riverside National Cemetery. Instead of flowers, please make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association.