Justine Marie Novy

Born on November 3, 1964 in Washington, DC, Justine was the middle child born to Freddie Kerby and Angela Petralia Knepp. She was raised in Clinton, MD, and graduated from Towson University in 1986.

While attending a wedding in May of 1987, Justine met her future husband, Michael A. Novy. They were married in October of 1988 and resided in Clinton, Maryland. Their two children, Angela and David, were born in 1990 and 1992. The family moved to Huntingtown, Maryland in 1993, and became active members of their community, where they resided for the next 22 years. Shortly after becoming empty nesters, Justine and Mike fulfilled a dream and moved to Washington, DC, in 2015.

Justine loved being a wife and mom and stayed home with her children until they entered school. She was employed by the Calvert County School System and was a history teacher at Northern High School where she finished the last 15 years of her career. She was a proud member of the NHS Family.

Along with being a teacher, Justine loved spending time with family and friends, was an avid reader, enjoyed riding her bicycle in her Hill East neighborhood, and meeting friends for coffee. Upon retiring, she enjoyed learning to cook new recipes and babysitting her grand-dog, Frankie. Additionally, she was an advocate for social justice and participated in many protests and marches. She was a proud supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Capital Area Food Bank, and other charitable organizations.

Justine was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2008 and was able to manage it with the help of her dedicated oncologist, Jason Taksey, and with support from her family and dear friends. In September of 2024, she learned her cancer had progressed to Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Justine underwent a Stem Cell Transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center in March of 2025 with the hope of attaining remission. Sadly, after a tremendously courageous fight, she lost her battle with Leukemia and passed away on June 20, 2025.

Justine was preceded in death by her mother, Angela Knepp, stepfather, Donald Knepp, and her brother John Kerby. She is survived by her husband, Michael A. Novy, her sisters Julie Waxham (Jon) and Dawn Parrish (Wes), her children, Angela Novy (Nathan) and David Novy (Ryan), as well as numerous beloved brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, chosen family, and friends.

For those planning to attend Justine's funeral in Washington, DC, please be advised that there is no parking available at the church. Attendees are encouraged to take Metro to the Capitol South Station located 0.5 miles from the church. There are also parking garages located 0.5 miles from the church at 412 1st St., SE and 600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE.

For those unable to attend, there will be a live-stream available at: Memorial Services | St. Mark's Episcopal Church | Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.

In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to one of Justine’s favorite charities (mentioned above) or to: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society: www.lls.org