Jimmy Santen

Jimmy is the son of the late Erwin and late Hildegarde (Hanneken) Santen.

Brother of the late Roger (the late Jeanette) Santen, Barbara (Joe) Epstein, Rev. Thomas Santen, Mary Ellen (Ben) Guenther.

Nephew of Ken Hanneken and special friend of Maria Przada, Joyce and Marvin Pund and Christopher Grass.

Our dearest uncle, great uncle, great-great uncle, and cousin.

His best friends were Dennis Salih and Donald Grass. The three of them brought family and friends together to celebrate holidays and other occasions. Any excuse for a party.

Jimmy loved his Catholic faith, and liked to serve Mass for his brother, Tom.

Jimmy was a core member of the Sunrise L’Arche community in Maplewood, MO for almost 14 years. His years in L’Arche brought him a whole new world of friends and loving people.

While his Down Syndrome limited him in many ways, it never kept him from enjoying life, contributing his talents, and bringing joy and laughter to others.

He worked for 40 years at Industrial Aid, a sheltered workshop, and hardly ever missed work.

He was a loyal Cardinal baseball fan. When he attended a Cardinal game, he would not leave until the last out. No exceptions.

He has watched every episode, many times, of “Superman,” “Leave it to Beaver,” and “The Three Stooges.”

He watched “Sound of Music” countless times.

Whenever he attended a wedding reception, he would not leave until he danced with the bride.

For the past six years, he has participated in an Alzheimer study at Washington U., the control group being men and women with Down Syndrome. In death, he donated his brain for the research.

SERVICE: There will be a funeral Mass at St. Simon the Apostle Church on Tuesday, June 10 at 11am, with a visitation from 10am until the start of the funeral Mass.

If you would like to make a contribution in memory of Jimmy, please consider doing so by supporting the L’Arche campaign “Everyone Belongs.” Contributions can be made to: L’Arche-St. Louis, 9445 Litzsinger Rd., St. Louis, MO. 63144.