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Life story

" Florence Darlene Seyler passed away on Thursday December 12, 2024, at the Morningside House of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She was 89 years old.
She was born on August 24, 1935, to Alfred E. Seyler and Florence A. (Larkin) Seyler in Monticello, Illinois. During World War II, her family moved to Deep Creek, Virginia where her father worked as a welder and ship builder at the Norfolk Naval Shipyards. After the war, they returned to their family farm in Nashville, Illinois, where Darlene graduated from Nashville Community High School in 1952.
Following graduation, she moved to Saint Louis, Missouri where she began clerical work, and met Beverly W. Knepper, an Air Force auditor and analyst. The two married and embarked on life as a military family, eventually having 4 children. Their journey took them across the United Stated and overseas to Germany during assignments at Lockbourne AFB (Ohio), Rhein-Main AFB (Germany), and Grand Forks AFB (North Dakota).
In 1966, after 13 years of marriage, Darlene and Bev divorced. She moved her children to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she worked as a dental assistant. In September 1967, she married Leslie D. Brown, and relocated to Prince William County, Virginia. There she welcomed her fifth child in 1969 and began a long career with the Army Engineer Topographic Labs (ETL) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, eventually achieving the position of Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Army Geospatial Center.
After decades of dedication and hard work, Darlene retired from federal service. She settled into a well-earned retirement at Lake of the Woods in Orange, Virginia. She spent these years traveling extensively, nurturing her passion for photography, caring for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and enjoying life’s simpler pleasures surrounded by family and friends.
Darlene is survived by her children: Steven (Shella) Knepper, Brian (Connie) Knepper, Scott (Renee) Knepper, and Dennis (Casey) Brown; as well as 23 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, 2 great-great grandchildren, numerous nieces, and nephews. She was proceeded in death by her parents, seven siblings, and her beloved daughter Brenda (Maureen) Knepper.
Darlene was proud, competitive, and a self-described “stubborn Seyler”, but under that bravado was a tender hearted, fierce defender, and supporter of her family. Her daughter Brenda once reflected on her mother’s remarkable resilience and energy;
“I’ve always admired my mom's feistiness, independence, high level of energy and activity, and her ability to network and keep our large, extended family and friends connected (she was the youngest of eight kids and I have about 42 first cousins on her side).
When I was growing up, these are a few, not all, of the activities I recall her participating in: women's basketball team, judo lessons, square dancing group, Sunday school teacher, bowling league, running a tennis club, selling Tupperware and Home Interiors products, Girl Scout leader, and Little League baseball coach. She is also an excellent seamstress, making many of our clothes including her square dance dresses and matching Western shirts for my dad. She has also always been an avid photographer.
She was always quick to put together potato salad, fixings for hot dogs and hamburgers, baseball bat and gloves, badminton set, and other supplies; throw it all in the back of the station wagon and haul us out for a daylong outing at Bull Run Park in Manassas or Prince William Forest Park near Quantico. My brothers and I have great memories of picnics, camping and traveling as a military family all over the U.S. -- Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, Mount Rushmore and the Dakota Badlands, as well as Germany and Switzerland when we were overseas.
My mom raised five kids, in addition to working full-time for several decades. She retired as a public affairs director for an engineering/topographic laboratory at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. She also worked part-time weekends in a variety of roles at INOVA Fairfax Hospital for many years.
In her retirement she still bowls, square dances, watches grandchildren and great grandchildren, puts together family gatherings, and continues to document all our lives through her photography.”
Darlene began experiencing memory challenges, so in February 2020, she spent time under the loving care of her daughter Brenda in Long Beach, California. This period brought cherished moments for both mother and daughter despite Brenda’s own nine-year battle with Ovarian cancer. Darlene returned to Virginia for full-time memory care at Morningside House in Fredericksburg. She remained close to much of her family until her peaceful passing.
A memorial service honoring Darlene’s life will be held on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Laurel Hill Memorial Park located at 10127 Plank Rd. Spotsylvania Virginia 22553. The service will begin at 1:00 PM with inurnment immediately following. Friends and family are invited to attend a Celebration of Life reception afterward in the fellowship hall where light foods, and refreshments will be served.
Darlene’s legacy lives on through the countless lives she touched with her strength of spirit and unwavering love for family. May her memory bring comfort to all who knew her.
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