Dr. John Victor Kelsey Jr.

Known as “Jack” to his family and “Jake” to friends and colleagues he was born in Annapolis, MD on October 20, 1947. His father was Lt. Col. USMC John V. Kelsey who died when he was 10. When his mother remarried a widower with four children, he welcomed his new siblings as a big brother. Jack was a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Georgetown University School of Dentistry, and earned his MBA at the University of New Mexico.

He chose a career in public health, and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Public Health Service, where he served in Indian Health on the Navajo Reservation in Chinle, AZ, and in both Gallup and Albuquerque, NM. After Indian Service, he returned to Washington, DC to work at the United States Food and Drug Administration as Deputy Director of the Office of Orphan Products and later as Team Leader and Senior Reviewer of Dental Products and Procedures in the Division of Dermatology and Dentistry. Dr. Kelsey retired with over 30 years of service in public health

Jack is survived by his wife, Marian KC Adkins of the home and his beloved daughters Sarah K. Weldon (Henry) of OR, and Erin A. Kelsey of CA, his grandchildren, Jasper and Gemma, brother Brian R. Kelsey (Jodie) of Bethesda, MD, a sister Suzanne K. Malloy of CT, his four step-siblings, and his mother Ann Kelsey Somers of Chevy Chase, MD.

Relatives and friends are invited to a Celebration of Life at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, LLC, 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016 on Friday November 22, 2019 at 10:00 AM. Private interment will take place at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association.