Obituary of Janice Justine Elizabeth Newby Ketzle

Janice Justine Elizabeth Newby Ketzle, (J.J. to her friends), 53, of Chantilly, VA passed away Sunday, July 23, at home with her family after a 21-month battle against gastric cancer. J.J. is survived by Jeff, her husband of 21 years, their two children, Alexander and Lorelei, as well as her mother Cassandra Robertson Newby, father Jeffrey, sister Shannon Newby Barker, nephew Austin, and nieces Anastasia Barker, and Ellyra and Saraia Ketzle.

A proud Miami native, J.J. graduated from Coral Gables Senior High in 1987.  A 1991 graduate of University of Missouri with a Bachelor's of Journalism degree, her drive led her to being a news anchor and executive producer at CNWG-TV in Rome, GA. Her stories included going on drug-house raids with the local Sheriff's office, skydiving, and eliciting a murder confession while conducting a jailhouse interview.  Moving to California in 1994, J.J. turned her journalism experience toward being a skilled marketing advisor/writer/editor/producer. At multiple rising technology companies such as Synon, Tandem, nVidia and Exodus she published customer success stories, wrote style guides, wrote corporate speeches and helped close million-dollar proposals.

Jeff joined J.J. in Santa Clara, California in 1999.  In January 2002, taking advantage of an offer from Jeff's company, they moved their eight cats and dog to Fairfax County, Virginia. They married in November 2002 in Coral Gables, Florida, at the church where they first met in 1980.  Settling in Chantilly and continuing to write, she edited Find It Online and wrote for her blog, "Caffeine and a Prayer."  With two children at home, she also made time to be very involved with the Junior League of Northern Virginia, serving as president in 2010-2011, was awarded the Victoria Z. Greve Award for Distinguished Service as an active member, and the Mary Harriman award for Leadership as a sustainer.

In 2013, J.J. made a mid-life career change and entered nursing school, graduating in 2017. She worked as a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital.  Sidelined by an injury, she was to return to work when COVID struck.  Being immunocompromised, she was still able to serve as a nurse providing vaccinations. In late 2021, an MRI for kidney stones found her cancer, and led to her last great battle. She lived her last 21 months writing online about her journey, working to inspire others to be tested for gastric cancer and encouraging everyone to advocate for themselves when facing medical diagnoses and decisions.

J.J. was passionate about many things in her life: her children, her friends and family, her growing collection of  china, silver and glass (particularly Depression glass, and specifically American Sweetheart), and scrapbooking.  Her heart and hands reached out to stray animals and people in need.  Her friends gifted her with flamingos, as the bird became known as her spirit animal.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday, August 4, 2023 at 11am at Floris United Methodist Church, 13600 Frying Pan Road, Herndon, VA 20170.  In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated in J.J.'s name to Debbie's Dream Foundation Curing Stomach Cancer or to your local pet shelter.