Gretchen Haussmann Knoell of Jamison died peacefully on Friday, July 27, 2012, at Friends Nursing Home at Chandler Hall in Newtown surrounded by family and friends. She was 82.

She was the beloved wife of the late John E. Knoell for 39 years.

Born in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of the late Karl Ludwig and Paula Klara Schmidt Haussmann and the sister of the late Charlotte H. Aylor.
Mrs. Knoell was a resident of Jamison for the past 30 years and lived in Bucks County for over 40 years. She was a graduate of Upper Darby High School, Class of 1947.

Along with her late husband, Gretchen owned and operated John Knoell and Son, which was a fine woodworking company located in New Britain, PA. Gretchen was the proud founder and manager of the company’s Custom Craft Shop art gallery and framing store for many years. Prior to her marriage to John in 1969, she was one of the first female executives at Atlantic Richfield Company, now British Petroleum.

Gretchen was a lover of fine art and interesting people. Gretchen, like her husband, was a great humanitarian and a benefactor of many local charitable organizations, including the Pleasantville United Church of Christ, the Mercer Museum, the Heritage Conservancy BARC, the Grundy Foundation, and the Bucks County SPCA. Together with her husband, she was involved with the development of Doylestown Hospital, St. Mary’s Medical Center, and the Pine Run Community. She was also active with the Bereavement Group at Doylestown Hospital and the Red Hat Society.

Gretchen is survived by her sister, Lore Fisher of Darby, PA, her two nieces, Charlotte Aylor-Diaz and her husband Dan Diaz, and Laureen Pisani; her nephew, John Sobola; three great-nephews, Philip, Anthony and Andrew Pisani; a great niece, Paula Pisani; 2 great-great nephews, Tyler Droxler and Dante Pisani; and a great-great niece, Gianna Pisani.

Gretchen was also a great lover of “fur persons”…she truly loved animals. Gretchen was pre-deceased by many of her beloved cats, including Redsie, Dotty, Tinky, and Blackbird. She is survived, and will be greatly missed, by her dear cat, Noel, and her therapy dog puppies, Dulcie and Diego.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend her Funeral Service on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, at 1:00 PM at Pleasantville United Church of Christ, 3424 Limekiln Pike, Chalfont, PA 18914. Her interment will follow in the Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, Gretchen would truly appreciate contributions in her memory be made to Pleasantville United Church of Christ at the above address.