John “Jack” Remelius graduated from Roosevelt High School in June 1947, where he was on the Rough Rider staff and had a Service R. He passed away on November 18, 2025, at the age of 95.

John became a Cub Scout at the age of ten while attending Grant School and remained active in scouting until his death, 85 years later. He earned Eagle Scout status in 1941. He held many leadership roles with the Boy Scouts of America including serving as the Scout Master of Troop 24 and later Troop 821. He was on the board of the St. Louis Eagle Scout Association. He served on the Eagle Scout Board of Review which oversaw an aspiring Eagle Scout’s project and later determined if they met the stringent requirements of becoming an Eagle Scout. John was also a Merit Badge counselor. He founded the Scouting Memorabilia Association of St. Louis.

Mr. Remelius took engineering classes at St. Louis University before entering the U.S. Army in 1953, serving at Ft. Lewis, Washington. After his discharge in 1955, he began a lengthy career at White Rogers, a division of Emerson Electric, an industry leader in the manufacturing of HVAC controls and equipment. He was a time unit supervisor in their Methods Engineering Unit (an efficiency expert). He retired in 1987, then continued working as a plant manager with Nordyne Corp. until 1995.

Mr. Remelius was a founding member and served on the Board of Directors of the Affton Historical Society for many years, serving as President in the mid 1980’s. He was active with the Affton Chamber of Commerce as White Roger’s liaison during the 1980’s, continuing after his retirement. The Chamber awarded him with its Citizen of the Year Award in 1983.

Mr. Remelius served on the Board of the Carondelet Historical Society for twenty years, including eight years as Board President. They named their meeting room in 2025 to honor his contributions to their organization.

Mr. Remelius was a long-time volunteer with the Affton School District. John was treasurer, vice president and later president of their planning board; chaired Heege Elementary School’s annual picnic committee for six years; chaired the annual Book Fair; chaired the Student Grant Committee; and co-chaired a 1963 committee seeking to pass a much-needed 25-cent tax increase, which was approved by almost 500 votes. He was also involved in many committees at Heege, Affton Junior, and Affton High School. The Affton School Board gave John its first SOAR Award (Service & Outstanding Achievement Recognition) in 1997 to honor his many years of service to their schools and children.

He coached youth baseball and ice hockey for the Affton Athletic Association. John was also active with the Gardenville DeMolay Advisory Board, Job’s Daughters Council, and the Consistory of Grace United Church of Christ. He and his family were active members of the Grace United Church of Christ where he served as President of the Church Council. He was a Master Mason in the Gardenville-Cache Lodge of the Freemasons.

Mr. Remelius donated his body to Washington University’s Medical School as a final contribution to society.

As can be seen by Mr. Remelius’s body of work as a civil leader, he epitomizes what a true Rough Rider represents and is a credit to the Roosevelt High School community.