John Jay Saulnier

John Jay Saulnier went by John to some and Jay to others, but to the grandkids who lit up his world, he was simply Papa John – and that might have been his favorite name of all.

Born June 18, 1956 in Newport, Rhode Island and raised in Roseville, Michigan, John lived a full and rooted life across the Midwest – from the UP of Michigan at Michigan Tech, to East Lansing cheering on his beloved Michigan State Spartans, to Kansas City where he launched his career, to the University of Missouri – Rolla, and finally to St. Louis, where he laid down roots and built his most cherished chapter.

To know John was to know a man who did nothing halfway. A civil and environmental engineer and senior project manager for 45 years, he was the person colleagues called when something had to be done – and done right. Despite retiring more than once, the demand for his expertise had a way of pulling him back. He finally retired for good in 2024, though the standards he held never retired with him. Whether managing a major project or volunteering his engineering mind for service projects at Cornerstone United Methodist Church of O’Fallon, John brought the same exacting excellence to everything he touched.

He was meticulous in the best way – the kind of man who had a specific rag in the kitchen, a paper towel perpetually in his pocket, and an opinion about the correct way to do most things. His family didn’t just tolerate these quirks; they loved him fiercely because of them. To know John and all of his fun eccentricities was, without exception, to love him.

His passions were many and he held them deeply. Golf was a weekly ritual and a competitive one – winning each round was a particular source of joy. Sports ran in his blood: he bled green and white for his beloved Michigan State Spartans, cheered himself hoarse for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Detroit Tigers, and the Detroit Lions, and held a reverence for hockey that bordered on spiritual – the St. Louis Blues, the Detroit Red Wings, and Wayne Gretzky occupied a hallowed place in his heart. He sought warmth and music wherever he could find it – naming and dating almost any oldies song, enjoying live music, basking in the sun of Jamaica with Teresa annually, and most of all, spending time with the people he loved.

John was healthy, active, the life of the party and a big brother to many – the first one to drop everything when you needed him, the first one in Euchre to call a rally cap, and the one whose infectious confidence made you believe things were going to turn out just fine. His signature phrases – “come on, man,” “you’re killing me,” “stop busting my balls” – will echo in the memory of everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.

As a father, John was caring, compassionate, and unwilling to let his daughters be anything less than their best. He attended every big moment. He served as general contractor for Brittany’s latest property build. He sat through more recitals and concerts than he could count, and he announced every proud moment the same way – with the loudest whistle known to man, full-throated and unashamed. The greatest gift he gave Tiffany and Brittany was the one he modeled every single day: the value of hard work, grit, and the refusal to give up in the face of adversity.

As Papa John, he was pure joy. He read to his grandkids, joined their dance parties, sang Disney tunes without embarrassment, and made sure not a single birthday passed uncelebrated. He put on a matching Michigan State tutu. He dressed as Aladdin. He showed up — every time, in every way that mattered. And in his final days, he was given one last extraordinary gift: meeting his first grandson, just four weeks old, before he passed.

In his later years, John’s faith became the cornerstone of his life. He knew Jesus as his Lord and Savior, found deep community through the men’s group at Cornerstone United Methodist Church, and approached the end of his life with the peace of a man who knew exactly where he was going.

John is survived by his beloved wife, Teresa Sickels, his partner since 2007 and his bride since 2023; his daughters Tiffany Kinloch (Aaron) and Brittany Saulnier; his stepsons Adam Sickels (Bridget) and Alex Sickels; his grandchildren Ellie, Hannah, and Benjamin Kinloch, and Lily and Leraine Sickels; his siblings Claire Kenaan, Glen Saulnier, and Steve Saulnier; and his former wife and mother of his daughters, Debbie Schroeder-Saulnier. He is preceded in death by his parents, Claremont John and Mary Saulnier, his bonus parents, Roy and Joy “Gladys” Schroeder, and dear friend, Donald Hall, reunited with them now.

John worked hard, loved harder, and left the world better organized, better built, and better loved than he found it. Rally cap on, Papa John. Rally cap on. Go green.

Memorials may be made in John’s name to the Arbor Day Foundation.