THE VILLAGES, Fla. — Shaun (Viles) Knipfer, 62, from the hometown of St. Joseph, passed away peacefully Tuesday, July 19, 2022, after a 7-year battle with cancer.
Shaun was born July 6th, 1960, in Champaign County, the daughter of Wanda & Wendell Viles (both deceased now).
She graduated from St Joseph-Ogden High School in 1978, and then graduated from Parkland College as a surgical technician in 1980.
Shaun married Delmer “Buddy” Knipfer, her high school sweetheart, on June 7th, 1980, when they began their lives together for 42 years of marriage. Shaun went back to Parkland College in 1990 and graduated as a registered nurse working in operating rooms. She worked in several hospitals: Burnham Hospital & Carle Hospital in Champaign-Urbana, and then Sherman Hospital and Alexis Brothers Hospital in the suburbs of Chicago. She was very proud to be an operating room nurse, but we believe she worked more for the social interaction with her peers and doctors than the work. That was her gift. Every room she entered was filled with her love of life, friends, music, and compassion. If you knew her, she left you with admiration and a smile. She loved vacations, cooking, crafting, boating, and having people over at her “all inclusive” hosting of her homes.
In 2015, Shaun was diagnosed with stage four cancer with one year to live. Like the rest of her life, she embraced the situation and showed the same spirit and love for life to defy those odds for another seven years. Shaun and her husband retired in 2016 and started to snowbird to Florida. Ultimately they moved to Florida permanently, where she was surrounded with new friends that had the same admiration of such a strong soul. She left this world on her own terms. She was on their pontoon boat four days before she passed. We can all still hear her laugh!
Shaun is survived by; her husband, Delmer “Buddy” Knipfer, brother Warren Viles married to Jeanna (Thompson) Viles with nephew Steven Viles and niece Donna (Viles) Hawk with three children Trey, Trent and Nathin.
Burial will be in Mount Olive Cemetery of Mayview with a private graveside service to be held and a celebration of life event will be announced in the coming weeks.
Donations on her behalf can be made to Parkland College in Champaign.
NG 7/24/2022
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