When Juliette Brown began working at the Underground in Provincetown soon after it was founded in 2013, her coworkers found her tattoos a bit intimidating, but soon enough they marveled as her beauty and authenticity shone through, said Underground co-manager Michelle Delash. “She was a gem — a jewel, if you will — here in a sea of the ordinary,” said Delash.
Juliette Brodeur Brown of Eastham, who was known as “Jule,” died in a single-car accident on the morning of Jan. 23, 2022 in South Wellfleet. She was 47 and the mother of four.
Born in Holyoke on Aug. 5, 1974 to Carol and Francis Brodeur, Juliette grew up in Wellfleet. She attended Wellfleet Elementary School, where, although she was very shy, she stood out for her beautiful long blond hair, her mother said.
The family had no television. Jule spent lots of time with the neighborhood kids and enjoyed playing Scrabble in the evenings at home. Sandy Dobbyn, a family friend since Jule was five, said that she was “then and forever the apple of her mother’s eye.”
Jule was “very intelligent, kind, and sweet,” said Carol Brodeur. She was also an idealist who chose to leave Nauset High School before graduation to work and travel. At 17, she went to New York, where she sang in a political punk band. She was often on the road, but when she was in the city, she prepared vegan dishes to feed the homeless. Still, her true home was the Outer Cape.
Jule returned to Wellfleet to raise her family. She was a single mom, and as her children Alexia Brodeur and Justice and Chelsea Carlone grew up, Jule worked hard to ensure that they lived secure and enriching lives. Alexia remembers that her mother “always found a way to make our lives special. She had a powerful energy that would take any situation and turn it into something beautiful.” Alexia added that her mom was famous for helping people, even when she didn’t have much herself. “She was just a really kind-hearted spirit,” Alexia said.
Jule worked in a variety of jobs from house cleaning to gardening, but her profession was bartending. She worked at many local restaurants, including Montano’s in North Truro, the Wicked Oyster in Wellfleet, and the Underground in Provincetown. Most recently, she was at C-Shore in South Wellfleet.
After the birth of her fourth child, Shayna Brown, Jule married Ryan Brown in 2011 and traveled to Jamaica to spend time with her husband’s family and friends. Because she had worked so hard for so many years, according to her son, Justice, her trips to Jamaica were the first breaks she ever had, and they were simple vacations of sun and sand.
Jule’s idealism expressed itself in many ways. “She was a Leo,” Justice said, “and so she was connected to the sun and to medicine.” She loved plants, and although she did not have a green thumb, she was skilled at using plants to make natural remedies.
Throughout her life, Jule “was never scared to question the system,” as Justice put it. “She was all about being ‘for the people’; she was a real free spirit.”
In a remembrance, Jule’s friend Suzanne Correiro wrote: “I remember Jule as a little girl, so beautiful, kind and gentle.” Correiro wrote that Jule had become “a courageous, loving, and kind mother and daughter.”
She had, Justice said, “50 lifetimes in one,” and should be remembered as “passing down a message of oneness.”
Juliette is survived by her husband, Ryan Brown of Eastham; her mother, Carol Brodeur of Eastham; daughters Alexia Rize of Yarmouth and Chelsea Carlone and Shayna Brown of Eastham; son Justice Carlone of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and grandchildren Spencer Cobbet, 9, and Aurora Jamieson, 20 months.
A public viewing will be held on Feb. 4 beginning at 4 p.m. at Nickerson Funeral Home, 77 Eldredge Parkway in Orleans. Burial will be at 11 a.m. on Feb. 5 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Eastham, followed by a celebration of Jule’s life at the Elks Lodge, 10 McKoy Road in Eastham. The celebration will include a slide show and sharing of stories. Funereal garb is discouraged, as Jule would have preferred bright colors.
Ryan Brown’s employer, Brundage Site Work, has organized a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses and support the family. It can be found at gofund.me/087d7423.
Editor’s note: Because of a reporting error, an earlier version of this obituary that appeared in print in the Feb. 3 issue incorrectly identified Michelle Delash as owner of the Underground rather than the co-manager.
