Juliette Elizabeth Kelsey Chagnon

Juliette Elizabeth Kelsey Chagnon July 15th, 1963—September 9th, 2023 Juliette Elizabeth Kelsey Chagnon, stage actress, theatrical director, Managing Editor of Air & Space Forces Magazine, and, above all, devoted mother to her children Rory and Harper, died on Saturday, September 10th. She was 60 years old. Her death was caused by cancer, which she had been battling with undaunted courage for over a year. Juliette was born on July 15th, 1963, in Perry, Oklahoma, the second child of Judy and Barry Kelsey. Her childhood was spent in a number of small towns in Oklahoma and Texas. Her family eventually settled in Noble, Oklahoma, where she first engaged her passion for the theater. She landed important roles in regional productions even before graduating from high school, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and A Christmas Carol. She went on to attend the University of Oklahoma as a theater major, playing lead roles in a number of plays, including Grace Harkaway in London Assurance, Eylie in Ladyhouse Blues, and Cherie (Marilyn Monroe’s signature role) in William Inge’s Bus Stop. While at OU she also directed Sam Shephard’s Fool for Love. The Daily Oklahoman praised Juliette’s performance as Arlie in the prison drama, Getting Out: “It was Juliette Kelsey's sustained, somewhat downbeat performance as the released inmate who wants to be called Arlene by a world that still wants to call her Arlie, which proved most crucial to the two-act production.” As her friend and OU classmate Lisa Hogan remembers: “Juliette wowed them as Arlie ... (as a young actress) she was definitely considered one to watch.” After graduating from OU, Juliette moved to New York City, where she was invited to join The Actors Studio, the legendary acting school founded by Elia Kazan and directed by Lee Strasburg. During her years in New York, Juliette performed in a number of off-Broadway productions and worked as an editor, writer, and bartender. Juliette moved to the Washington D.C. area in the mid-1990s, where she continued to act and eventually began directing her own productions. While living in D.C., she met Robert Chagnon, a District of Columbia police officer. The pair married in 1999 and settled in Waldorf, MD. Their first child, Rory, was born in 1998; their second, Harper, was born in 2001. Juliette raised her kids the only way she knew how: with full-bore passion and commitment. No one ever put more of herself into the job of being a mother. In the late-1990s, Juliette began working for Air Force Magazine as an editorial assistant and copy editor. She worked her way up to the post of Managing Editor, which she held for the better part of 25 years. The magazine’s current Editor in Chief, Tobias Naegele, cites Juliette’s “loyal support to four editors in succession,” and calls her “a fierce defender of editorial independence, accuracy, integrity, and her beloved Oxford comma.” He goes on to say, “Juliette had a sharp wit, a deep love of family, and had a tireless devotion to producing a professional and well-respected publication.” As a measure of her devotion to both job and family, Juliette commuted to Washington every day before sunrise, ending her workday before the kids got home from school, so that either she or Robert could always be home for them. As word has spread of Juliette’s passing, many of her friends have shared their reminiscences via email and social media. Her great friend Diane Britton writes: “Juliette was indeed a force of nature. For many years we were each other’s shadow, the two of us—meeting the first day of class; my first college roommate; and all through our years in Norman. When she visited me for the first time in NYC, she introduced me to the man I eventually married and who would father my children. She was there when my firstborn, my son was born, and a bridesmaid at my wedding. She counseled me when my marriage failed ... and oh so much more ... I know she lives on in our hearts, memories, and the legacy of those she loved and who loved her. Juliette’s high school friend Susan Pingleton wrote to Diane after learning of her death: “I remember when we did our very first play together when she was 15. We used to call her Jewels. She was a jewel. A beauty. A wit. A patient person. A kind soul. It saddens me that she’s left this place, but I am quite certain she’ll keep watch over you and your family and continue to show up for you in unusual places. They always find a way.” Juliette is survived by her husband Robert, her children Rory and Harper, her mother Judy Kelsey, her brother Chris Kelsey, her sister-in-law Lisa Kelsey, her niece Meret Kelsey, her nephew Jasper Kelsey, her son-in-law Hannes Kolasch, her sister Jennifer Brigandi, her niece Jasmine Brigandi, her step-son David, his wife Jessica, and her two grandchildren, Adrianna and Dean. She also left behind untold dozens who knew and loved her, not only as a kind and loyal friend, but as a true force for good in the world. The world will miss her.

Juliette Elizabeth Kelsey Chagnon

July 15, 1963 - September 9, 2023