Juliette Lynn Charney (nee Virgil)

2026

Jul 16

October 13, 1950 — April 29, 2026

It is with deep love and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Juliette Charney, a woman of extraordinary spirit, fierce devotion, and boundless adventure. She left this world as she lived in it, with grit and determination.

Born to Owen Carl Virgil and Pearl Doreen (née McEachern) on October 13, 1950, in Edmonton, Alberta, Juliette was the third oldest daughter in a family of four girls and one boy. Her early years were shaped by challenge and resilience. Money was often tight, and the family moved frequently. Her parents were both deaf, which meant that the household operated with few conventional rules.

Rather than being diminished by these circumstances, Juliette was forged by them. The streets of North Edmonton taught her resourcefulness, grit, and self-reliance which stayed with her for life. As a child she spent time on her grand parents’ farm just outside of Cut Knife, Saskatchewan where she discovered her love of animals and nature. In her youth she developed a love for swimming, fastpitch, dancing, and drawing and made lifelong friends. Determined to make the most of her life she was not afraid of hard work and often held multiple jobs to better her lot in life. It was this drive that pushed her to pursue her GED as a young mother and a diploma in computer programming later in adulthood.

As a teenager, Juliette faced one of the most difficult moments a young woman can endure. She became pregnant and, with great love and immense courage, made the selfless choice to give her daughter the opportunity of a better life by placing her for adoption. It was a decision of profound sacrifice that stayed with and shaped her. That gift, offered in the hardest of circumstances, would find its way back to her decades later in the most beautiful of ways.

Juliette met her husband and best friend, Len, they married in 1969 and together they built a family. They welcomed three children into the world, and Juliette was committed to doing everything she could to provide for those she loved. While some of those choices came with challenges, making sure her family was able to succeed in life was always her greatest purpose. Above all, she instilled in her children the values she lived by — to be strong and independent, to stay curious and willing to learn, to embrace new adventures with open arms, and most of all to put family first. She raised them to never feel limited by circumstance, but instead to explore every opportunity life had to offer, and to meet the world with the same courage and warmth she brought to everything she did.

Juliette’s sense of adventure was one of her most defining qualities. She was never afraid to try something new, and her career path reflected a life lived boldly. She learned to drive a transport truck, a school bus, tour bus and the Handy-Dart. She managed several hotels, worked in casinos, and on cruise ships.Juliette took to the seas with the same ease she brought to everything else. She believed in volunteerism and did so whenever the opportunity presented itself. She coached fastpitch, umpired baseball and embraced travel and loved the adventures it offered. She was a natural born leader sitting as the president of both her local Co-op, the Alberta Recording Industry Association. She sat as a board member of FACTOR, and Canadian Country Music Association. Whatever life put in front of her, Juliette showed up ready.

As someone who often chose a more independent path, when it came to her grandchildren, Juliette decided she was not “Grandma,” but the “Grande Lady.” The title suited her perfectly. Spread across Canada and the United States, her “Grand Beauties” and “Grand Buddies” each held a treasured place in her heart, and she in theirs.

One of the most meaningful chapters of Juliette’s later years was her reunion with her firstborn daughter, Bonny, just four years ago. The child she had lovingly placed for adoption so many years before had found her way home. Though the relationship was entirely new for both, they embraced it with open arms, and in the time they had together, they discovered a deep and genuine bond. The gift Juliette had given all those years ago had come full circle — and it was more beautiful than either of them could have imagined.

Two years ago, Juliette was diagnosed with cancer. In the time that followed, she lived with her daughter Bonny and her husband Lee in Sherwood Park, Alberta, and spent time at with her daughter Ginger and her family at her home in Brandon, Manitoba surrounded by love and care. Even in the face of illness, her spirit remained unmistakably her own.

Juliette is predeceased by her parents Owen and Pearl Virgil, her spouse Lionel Lamoureux, and her sisters Dyan Galley and Yvonne Tjerenstrom. Juliette is survived by her loving children: daughters Bonny and her husband Lee Funke, of Sherwood Park, Ginger and her spouse Darlene, of Brandon, René and her husband Eddie Taubensee, of Greenville, South Carolina, and son Denny and his wife Barrie, of Winter Garden, Florida. She leaves behind her cherished 2 Grand Beauties and 8 Grand Buddies and 3 great grand children, spread across Canada and the United States. Juliette is also survived by her sister Bonnieand her husband Ted Berg, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and her brother Rob and his wife Gail, of Sherwood Park as well asmany nieces and nephews, and all those whose lives were made richer simply by knowing her.

The Grande Lady will not soon be forgotten.

She was adventure, compassion, love, and grace — all at once.

Her spirit lives on in each of us even if her essence has gone home.

If roses grow in Heaven, Lord,

Please pick a bunch for me.

Place them in my Mother’s arms

And tell her they’re from me.

Tell her that I love and miss her,

And when she turns to smile,

Place a kiss upon her cheek,

And hold her for a while.

Because remembering her is easy,