Obituary of Julie Alexandra Nippes

Julie A. Nippes passed away peacefully late Tuesday night August 4th, 2020 at the age of 46. The skies opened and the rain and the wind blew. Trees dropped their branches, roads closed, and all the lights deliriously flickered then shut.   Julie was a powerful presence. A mother. A coach. A leader. She knew how to keep us all on our toes.  

She passed on her own terms, in her own home, surrounded by loved ones and her Portuguese Waterdog, Gus. Julie is survived by her devoted husband Christopher Nippes and their three loving children: Miles, Clara, and Jude; her parents: John and Jane Nevin; and her brother Sean Nevin; and nieces Amelia Nevin and Kate Nippes; and nephew Jonah Nippes. 

Julie was raised in Montclair, NJ and graduated from Fairfield University in CT.  She studied in Costa Rica and was aAmeriCore Vista Volunteer in Humboldt CA. She loved the beach and vacationing with her family. She loved homemaking and staying home with them too.  She lived in San Francisco where she and her husband had Miles, their first child.  Theymoved back to NJ where they had Clara and Jude and have a wonderful busy home in Verona. Julie knows and loves her children deeply and individually.  She challenged them to grow, and she always had their backs. She fought to be with them as long as she could. Julie was a wonderful and loving mother.

Julie gathered friends everywhere she was. Real friends. Forever friends. To be in a relationship with Julie was not always easy but if you were lucky enough to be in one, you were better for it.  When you were wrong, Julie would tell you. She challenged people, she raised the bar of relationships, deepened them through actions, long talks and letters.  

Julie loved to laugh, often uncontrollably and with tears streaming.  This was a gift from her mother, and her mother before her. A blessing. Oftentimes they’d trigger each other. There was no stopping it.  Julie shared this gift with her children as well.  

Julie was a gifted athlete, a fierce competitor and a caring coach. She loved her mother and father, her family and all their traditions, new and old.  She cared for people and got involved. You could always find her at one of the kids’ games, cheering loudly. She was often the unofficial nurse, coach, or mom with friends and sometimes strangers. She cherished her husband, Chris.  They were high school sweethearts.  The went to prom together.  He cared for her at home until she passed.     

Julie was diagnosed with colon cancer last December and fought for every additional day with her family. She instructed us how to both live and die with great courage, humor, grace, dignity and unending love.  

Please consider donating to Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Center for Young Onset Colorectal Cancer.  The Center is the first clinic of its kind in the world dedicated solely to the specific needs of people under 50 who have colorectal cancer.  Mskcc.convio.net/goto/Julie_nevin_nippes

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, all services must be private.

Mskcc.convio.net/goto/Julie_nevin_nippes