Honoring the Memory
of Those
We Love

Aurelia Dilla (Wanner), known to her loving family as Ma, died in her sleep on the night of November 14, 2024 at 96 years young. She was married to her adoring husband Jim for 58 years until he passed away in 2009, and thereafter lived independently in the home he built until a few months ago. Together, Aurelia and Jim created a large, close-knit family of which they both were very proud. Aurelia was the loving mother of Lianne (Gary) Langsdale of State College, James (Mary) of Pittsburgh, Alan (Lizabeth) of Edinboro, Michael (Darlene) of Hollsopple, Donna (Stephen) Stoicovy of Erie, and her first daughter, Aurelia, who died shortly after birth. She was cherished by 13 grandchildren: James (Inga), Matthew, Gregory (Libby), Julie (Scott), Andrew (Hilary), Stephanie (Christopher), Rodger, Rebecca, Kevin, Emily, Peter (Hannah), Michael, and Renee, and 12 great-grandchildren: Griffin, Asher, Rhys, Beckett, Colin, Wylie, Tanner, Ewan, Sally, Eleanor, Rosalyn, and Benjamin. Aurelia was fond of sharing her joy in her family with others and would count up her children and their spouses, her grandchildren and their spouses, her great-grandchildren, and husband Jim to 42, and close with saying “and I make 43.”
Aurelia grew up in Mt. Oliver and graduated from St. Joseph’s High School in 1946. Her first job was working as a secretary with her childhood friend Jean Knechtel at St. Augustine Church in Lawrenceville. Later, Aurelia managed her busy home and worked at the downtown Pittsburgh Hornes store, to which she rode the Spencer Avenue bus. She loved to spend time with family and friends, visit the family Camp in Saegertown, go to the movies, shop for her grandkids and great-grandkids, sit on the bench in her front yard with friend Claire Kozlowski, tell funny stories, and laugh. Over the past 10 years, Aurelia kept herself busy by sewing aprons; she transformed her dining room into a craft room and sewed nearly a thousand handmade aprons for family, friends, and anyone else who expressed an interest. Her unique apron creations consist of expertly cut fabric, carefully selected rick rack, meticulously sewn pockets, and a handmade neck strap and back ties all of which were joined together with love in every stitch. She took pride in her craft, as evidenced by the countless aprons she made with perfectly aligned seams and patterns. There are hundreds of people across the country with aprons that were Made With Love by Ma; if you are one of those lucky people, please wear your apron to the funeral home (and don’t forget to iron it first!).
Aurelia was preceded in death by husband Jim, parents Albert and Lucille, brother Albert (Mozelle) Wanner, sister Mary Lu (Paul) Eiben, brother David Wanner, and nephew Steve Eiben; she is survived by sister-in-law Barbara Wanner, brother John (Janice) Wanner, brother-in-law John “Froggy” (Lee) Dilla, and many loving nieces and nephews. She was a parishioner of St. Wendelin Church for over 65 years.
Friends will be received at the John F. Slater Funeral Home, 412-881-4100, 4201 Brownsville Road, Brentwood PA 15227 on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 from 2-6 p.m. Funeral Prayer on Thursday morning at 9:45, Mass of Christian Burial in Blessed Trinity Parish at St. Albert the Great Church at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the March of Dimes, marchofdimes.org., 1550 Crystal Dr. Suite 1300 Arlington, VA 22202, the Pittsburgh Food Bank, pittsburghfoodbank.org, 1N. Linden St. Duquesne, PA 15110, or Metavivor, metavivor.org, METAvivor Research and Support Inc., 1783 Forest Dr., #184, Annapolis MD 21401 (for metastatic breast cancer research and support).