Kelsey Brice Goodman

Kelsey Brice Goodman, Commander, U.S. Navy (Retired)

Kelsey Brice Goodman, of Upper Marlboro, MD, at age ninety-one, greeted his family and
friends in Heaven on September 28, 2023 due to cancers. He was at home and surrounded by
his loving wife and children.
Kelsey was born on August 27, 1932 in Clarksville, Texas. His parents were John Purvie and
Ruby (Willis) Goodman, and he had one brother, John W. Goodman, MD. He is survived by his
beloved wife of sixty-six years, the former Faye Creighton of Mobile, AL. He is also survived by
his two sons, John David (wife Lyn) and Kelsey Christian (wife Margaret Mary (Meg)), his
daughter Anita Lee (husband Bob Paxton), and by six grandchildren and two great
granddaughters.
Kelsey served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviator for twenty-three years, both as a helicopter
pilot and a fixed wing pilot. His Navy service involved him in international incidents and/or
hostilities in the Middle East, Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Vietnam. A picture
taken by him of missiles sent to Cuba by the Soviet Union can still be found in history books and
on the internet. Kelsey is a plank owner from the launch of the USS Guadalcanal in 1963.
Kelsey spent almost seven years in various roles in the U.S. Antarctic program, and “Goodman
Hills” in Antarctica is named for him. He made twelve trips to the Antarctic continent, including
three six-month deployments, and one trip to the Arctic. In the early 1970’s Kelsey was loaned
by the Navy to the Office of the Secretary of Defense where, among other responsibilities, he
chaired the DoD Counter-Terrorism and Port Security Committees, and represented the
Secretary of Defense at the bi-weekly meetings of the President’s Cabinet Committee to
Combat Terrorism. Kelsey was also detailed to represent the Navy at the State Department and
the United Nations.
After retiring from the Navy as a Commander, Kelsey spent twenty-five years working in the
computer field. Kelsey’s final twelve years of work were in software design and development at
Deltek Systems. Deltek was virtually a startup company when he joined, but is a major
enterprise software vendor today. A year after his retirement Deltek honored Kelsey’s
contributions with their Founders’ Award. Kelsey held a B.S. from the University of Houston, a
Master’s degree in International Affairs from The George Washington University, a Master’s
degree in Information Systems from American University, and graduated with distinction from
the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI. Kelsey was inducted into two honor societies and
was voted into the prestigious Explorers Club.
Kelsey’s life experiences provided a seemingly endless source of stories for him to tell, which
will be sorely missed by his friends and family. During his lifetime Kelsey stressed repeatedly,
specifically, and forcefully that, although life provided him many opportunities for personal
recognition, he is by far the most proud of his wife and family, and never ceased to be grateful
to them for their love and their sacrifices on his and our country’s behalf.

Kelsey’s ashes will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery at a private service at a later
date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you acquaint yourself with the worthwhile work
performed by the PenFed Foundation. Donate if the spirit moves you, but there is no need to
mention Kelsey’s name. There is no keeping score.