Patricia Sweeney Knopfel Bates

Patricia Sweeney Knopfel Bates, age 86 of Upper St Clair, formerly of Mt. Lebanon, PA passed away peacefully with her family by her side on December 30, 2021. Born on April 22, 1935, she was the daugther of the late Mary and Paul Sweeney. Beloved wife to the late William Knopfel and David Bates. Loving mother to Vernon (Dorothy) Knopfel, Valerie Knopfel and Victoria (Tom) Knopfel Colcombe. Cherished Nana to William (Simi) Knopfel, Emily (Scott) Knopfel Gibbons, Sara Knopfel, Kyla Colcombe and Kasey (fiancée Sadie Kiggins) Colcombe. Loving great grandmother to Luke and Leena Knopfel and Jackson and Finley Gibbons. She was preceded in death by her sister Janet Dickinson.

Patricia was born and raised in Butler, PA. She then moved to Mt. Lebanon where she resided for 52 years and became a widow at the age of 32 with three small children. In 1979, she trained to become a travel agent and worked as a commercial travel agent for several years. Patricia worked with her second husband, David Bates, who organized and directed a Mt. Lebanon based consortium of churches program dedicated to assisting the white-collar unemployed. Their efforts were featured on network television and in local and national newspapers including CBS and NBC National News – The Wall Street Journal, US News and World Report, and more. Patricia was an extremely social person who enjoyed talking to her friends and family and will be dearly missed by all.

A private family Mass of Christian burial will take place on Tuesday, January 4, 2021 at St. Bernard Parish, 311 Washington Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. Her final resting place will be at Queen of Heaven Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Patricia’s name to the Dementia Society of America, www.dementiasociety.org.

Please view and sign the family’s online guestbook at pittsburghcremation.com.