Ruby Marie Templeton Novak

Ruby Marie Templeton Novak of Lynchburg, VA, passed away November 18, 2021.  Born to the late Mary Lee Dillard Templeton and Raleigh Robert Templeton on January 27, 1921, she was 10 weeks shy of her 101st birthday. She passed peacefully at Westminster Canterbury in Lynchburg, with several family members at her side. Ruby was one of nine children and the last of the Mary Lee and R.R. Templeton children.

Mother was an exceptional woman and accomplished a great deal in her 100 years on this earth. After she graduated Boonsboro High School, she went on to receive her R.N. degree from Capital City Nursing School in Washington, D.C.  It was there that she met her future husband, Dr. John Goodman Novak. They married in 1942 on her birthday and were together for 51 years until her husband’s death in 1993.  After raising eight children, she blossomed in her own right and became an accomplished and recognized artist. Her favorite medium was watercolors. Locally she studied with Jen Ayres and Dick Frisbee, both well-known regional artists.  She also attended numerous workshops with nationally recognized artists such as John Pike and Jamie Wyeth. She was the founding member of the Page Street Art Group, a group of local artists who laughed and created art together for many years. She loved them all dearly. She was an accomplished floral arranger who took home many blue ribbons in local competitions. In addition to her artistic endeavors, she also volunteered as a nurse whenever called upon by Boonsboro Elementary and High School.

In addition to being our mother, she was thought of as “Mom” by many of her children’s friends. There was always an available seat at her table or a spare bed when needed. Her husband, one daughter, Mary Lee Novak and one grandson, James N. Novak, predeceased her. She is survived by seven of her children: John T. Novak (Lynchburg, VA), Neil Novak and wife Dot (Lynchburg, VA), Carolyn Novak and husband Don Johnson (Elizabethton, TN), Dr. Barbara Novak (Bethesda, MD), Lisa Novak (Midlothian, VA), Raleigh Novak and wife Anne (Monroe, VA), and Joe Novak and wife Kathy (Gibsonville, NC.) In addition, she is survived by nine grandchildren: Jason Novak and wife Faith (Lynchburg), Michael Scott Novak and wife Beth (Granger, Texas), Berkley Novak (Lynchburg), Melinda McSpadden (New York, NY), John Thomas McSpadden and wife April (Johnson City, TN), Mathew Novak-Zarate and partner Katie (Louisville, KY), Jack Novak-Zarate and partner Teresa (Sacramento, CA), Tyler Novak and partner Krystalynne (Charlottesville, VA), Serenity Novak and partner Jacob (Lynchburg), 10 great-grandchildren, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the Third Floor Drinkard medical team at Westminster Canterbury and their Hospice Unit for their excellent and compassionate care of our mother.

A mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 AM, Wednesday, November 24th, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 710 Clay St., Lynchburg, VA. After the mass, there will be a visitation in the Commons Room at the church. Interment will follow at Virginia Memorial Park, Forest, VA. The family asks that you please wear a mask when not social distancing. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to the Boonsboro Volunteer Fire Department, Holy Cross Catholic Church, or a charity of your choice.

Tharp Funeral Home, Lynchburg is assisting the family.