Chris Saulet, a good friend of the
modeling community died recently of cancer. His funeral was one of the most
impressive I have ever witnessed. There were close to fifty state and local
police cars in the procession. He was honored by the Missouri Highway Patrol,
the U.S. Navy, the Missouri Air National Guard and eight bikers from his bicycle
riding club. His brother read a beautiful eulogy and I asked his permission to
share it with you, his friends.
Fred A Amos
IPMS/USA #6672
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Memorials may be made to American
Cancer Society or Lance Armstrong Foundation.
Saulet, Chris, of St. Charles, Missouri, died on Thursday, January 29, 2009
after a courageous battle with cancer, at the age of 50. Dearest husband of
Stephanie Saulet (nee: DuFour), dear son of the late Nicolas and Betty Gale
Greene; dear brother of Mark (Toni) Saulet, Patrick (Theresa) Saulet and Michael
(Trelitha) Bryant. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews, the DuFour,
Clark and Schoonover families and his beloved mother-in-law, Helen DuFour.
Chris was proud of his 25 years of service with the Missouri State Troopers. He
was a member of All Saints Catholic Church and IPMS (International Plastic
Models Society). He was an avid Cyclist. He rode in the 1999 Paris-Brest-Paris
850 mile race and he finished in 86 hours. He was very devoted to his time
served in the Navy and Air Reserves.
http://obit.baue.com/obitdisplay.html?id=629485&listing=Current
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The Eulogy of Christopher Nicholas
Saulet by his brothers Mark, Patrick and Michael
Alpha 1October 1958 – Omega 29 January 2009
Welcome Remarks: Good Morning, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a
wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see.
We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Christopher Nicholas Saulet.
To family (both immediate and extended), friends, his cancer team, Padre Don,
Hospice care givers and Co-Workers of Chris’s in the Missouri State Highway
Patrol Troop C, Missouri Air National Guard, fellow hobby club members and
enthusiast, cycling friends, and his neighbors in the Prince Andrew Court Cul-de-Sac
Angels, we, his family would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you for
taking time out of your busy schedules to be here with us to celebrate and honor
the life and legacy of a wonderful husband, brother, public servant and friend,
Christopher N. Saulet.
I know that the words that I speak here today will not do justice for my brother
Chris, but maybe these few words will shed light on the honorable life and
legacy of a wonderful amazing man.
It’s rare in life when you come across a person with such a zest for life, who
approached it with such courage, humility, dignity, integrity, honor and love,
all these characteristics easily describe Chris. He was what we call a wysiwyg
person, that is (what you see is what you get), straight and to the point
without all the fluff, kind of like officer Joe Friday from the old Dragnet TV
series who would always say “just the facts mam, just the facts”.
Click
on images below to see larger images
Chris touched each of our lives in his own special way, he loved his family as
well as animals second to none, he has a beautiful Alaskan Malamute named
Dartanion who is going to miss him so. And to his loving wife Stephanie, he
loved you more than words can describe, he was your lover, your protector, your
confidant and life partner, and on behalf of our family, I want to say to you,
thank you for loving and cherishing him and taking care of our dear brother, you
were his solid rock and truly his best friend. You were the second trooper in
your home, Thank You.
In the book of Mathew Chapter 25 and following, the text talks about faithful
servants two of the three who had done well by their master when they were
entrusted with five talents of money, (some where around five thousand dollars
in those days) those two servants went on and increased the value of their
talents. Chris was just like that in life, he was given one life to live, he
increased not only the value of his life, but he made each one of us better in
the process. He accomplished more in his 50 years than what most of us could do
in two lifetimes. Chris was a proud public servant for over half of his 50
years, first enlisting in the United States Navy and serving with honor and
distinction aboard the aircraft carriers Forrestal and Eisenhower as a Navy
ordinance-man and for a short time as an observer on Navy P-3 Orion maritime
patrol aircraft. After his active duty commitment, he chose to continue his
public service as a Missouri State Highway Patrolman, earning the rank of
Sergeant. He was a dedicated public servant to the state of Missouri. He served
as a road patrolman, evidence room supervisor, physical fitness coordinator and
most recently he worked in the gaming division on the river casinos. He took
tremendous pride in his job and everything he did, he was honorably retired this
month after 25 years of dedicated service on the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
While still serving on the state patrol, he had a yearning for the military way
of life once again, so he joined the Missouri Air Guard, working as an ordinance
technician on F-15 fighter aircraft and achieving the rank of Technical
Sergeant. He was a distinguished graduate of his tech school class. That’s
what Chris was about giving it his all and service to others, weather it was
upholding, protecting and defending our nation’s constitution or protecting
others while patrolling Missouri’s highways and byways, putting others before
him was first on his list.
Also, Chris was a D.A.R.E officer with the State Patrol always wanting to make
sure that young people were well informed on the hazards of drinking and driving
and giving them the best possible chance for success in life by sharing thoughts
with them about making the right choices in life. Others before self that was
the essence of Chris, so I can proudly say to you Chris, “well done thy good
and faithful servant, well done.”
Chris was a master model builder, building plastic models was not just a hobby
for him but a passion. I often bragged about his skills to others stating that
they could take any of his models and place them on a Hollywood movie set and
they could pass for the real thing without a doubt. If you were to take a trip
to the St. Louis World War museum you can see some of his work on display. His
house was filled with trophies, awards and certificates that he had won at
various modeling competitions. His patience, skill and attention to detail are
just truly amazing.
Physical fitness was another hallmark of Chris’s life. Tall, strong, handsome
and debonair, staying physically fit and a positive attitude was what helped him
stay in the fight with this rare form of cancer. Those two things I strongly
believe kept him going longer than any medical professional could have ever
predicted. Another thing that he loved was bike riding, and I’m not talking
about maybe once around the block kind of riding, we’re talking miles and
miles of riding man, he trained hard and it paid its dividends and he got good
at it, so good in fact that he road in these Tour-de-France style bike races
both here in the states and in France. He was a winner in every sense of the
word. Whatever he did, he was determined to be the best and do it better than
the next person. It’s that fighting spirit that we have come to associate so
closely with him.
Let’s take just a moment to reflect on your special Chris moment. I have three
that immediately come to mind: 1st when we were re-united some 14 years ago,
what a moment, but that’s another story for another time, second seeing his
joy and happiness on his wedding day. I didn’t know he could dance like that,
he had more moves that day than Michael Jordan and Dr. J combined, and lastly
celebrating his 50th birthday with him, seeing him staying strong and still
fighting the good courageous fight.
Chris wasn’t strictly business all of the time, with a twinkle in his eye and
his wry sense of humor and impeccable timing he could light up the room with
impromptu impersonations of the Munchkins in the Wizard of Oz, various scenes
from the Austin Powers movie series, Sean Connery, Bill Cosby and many more.
When we came together last October to celebrate Chris’s 50th birthday many
found out that he had a mischievous side to him as well, with his pie in the eye
pranks that he and fellow classmates pulled off in high school, and you know,
that rascal never got caught.
Chris always found time for family and friends, he was loyal, courteous, and
always a gentleman. He, just like my other brothers Mark and Patrick was never
too busy for me. I could call on him for anything he was right there for me
anytime night or day 24/7.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “That the ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge
and controversy.” Chris’s biggest challenge and controversy was cancer. In
his sickness and hard fought battle with this cancer, I never once heard him
complain or question why him. It was always I’m going to beat this, always
prayerful, positive, upbeat and full of hope. What spirit, drive, determination,
and courage he showed in the face of this dreaded disease. Even though he
endured tremendous pain in his battle with cancer, he carried on with the
dignity and pride that he was known for. The courage that he showed through all
of the chemo, radiation, blood transfusions, and other medical procedures could
only identify him as a class act. He taught us how to live in the face of a
dreaded disease and he did it with humility, a strong sense of pride and
bravery. He truly led by example. He had a big heart of gold. I know that I’m
a better and stronger person because of Chris.
I also know that there was a lot more that he wanted to accomplish on this time
side of life, more models to build, more races to ride in and more get togethers
with family and friends, but when his time came he did it his own way and went
out on his own terms. He knew God in his own special way. The day that he passed
away, that morning I read to him several passages from the bible including the
23rd Psalm, 27th Psalm, Isaiah chapter 40 Ephesians Chapter 6 and a few more, I
believe it gave both of us comfort and put his soul at rest.
Chris, I just want to say thank you for being my brother and the stand up person
that you are. Your loving spirit will live on in our hearts and memory until our
last breath. I love you as a person, brother and friend. It doesn’t take many
words for me to describe Chris. For me just one word sums it up. HERO, he was
and always will be my HERO.
As I close, I can just see him up there with his bike riding clothes on and a
smile on his face that could melt butter, ready to pedal on to the other side
and cross the next finish line, and as he looks back over his shoulder, He’ll
playfully say see you on the other side buddy.
We Love you, and miss you,
Mark, Patrick and
Michael.
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