Jay Lennartz

Jay Alan Lennartz, 62, of St. Joseph, MI passed away Friday, January 25, 2019 at his home. There are some people in life that make you laugh louder, smile a little brighter and live a little better… That was Jay Alan Lennartz, born April 19, 1956 in St. Charles, IL. He was a loving and devoted father, son, brother, uncle, son in law, brother in law and friend whom left this earthly place, after a valiant fight with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. Jay graduated from St. Charles High School and attended Waubonsee Community College and earned an Associate’s degree from Eastern Kentucky in Engineering. He joined the US Navy in 1977 and served for 6 years upon the USS John C. Calhoun Nuclear Submarine and studied nuclear engineering. After his service to our country he joined the private workforce employed by Carolina Power and Light in Cary, NC. He later took a position with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 31 years until his retirement to face his courageous battle. Jay met and married the love of his life Joy (Sapp) on June 27, 1987 in Cary, North Carolina and they celebrated 32 wonderful years.  Their happiest moment was the birth of their twins, Chase Lawrence and Summer Joy Lennartz. Jay has a passion for life and shared many interests, an avid boater, pulling friends and family on tubes and wakeboards.  He enjoyed golfing with friends and was a diehard Duke Fan. He loved to work in the yard, never leaving any leaves to mare the beauty of his freshly mowed yard! Jay was also blessed with many talents such as dancing and singing, which can be confirmed by family and friends he entertained. Jay had a “Goodness” and you felt it, but most importantly was his gift of laughter, his humor was contagious and a smile that could light up a room. His presence will be greatly missed in our lives but his blessing left us in abundance. Jay is survived by his wife, Joy, his son, Chase, daughter, Summer, brother Rob (Sandy) Lennartz, sister Terri (Bill) Koontz, nieces and nephews; Tiffany (Adam) Minderman, Heidi (Mike) Fleck, Sandie (Grant) Brady, Halle Koontz, Jake (Amber) Lennartz, Bodie Lennartz, Tammy (Byran) Hendrickson, Elizabeth Lennartz, Lindsay(Daniel) Baker, Andrew (Kendra) Wilson. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jack and Gloria (Host) Lennartz, his brother, Larry Lennartz, and his nephew Ryan Koontz. A Celebration of Life Service will be held 11:00 A.M., Saturday, February 2, 2019 at Grace Lutheran Church, 404 E. Glenlord Rd., St. Joseph with Pastor Glenn Rosenbaum officiating. Friends may visit from 10:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. Saturday at the church. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Jimmy V. Foundation or Special Olympics of Michigan. Those wishing to share a memory of Jay online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com