St. Paul Coach/Youth Minister 1976-2011

Jack Cygan has serviced our community in many ways. His work as a coach at St. Paul and his volunteer service as Catholic Youth Minister at St. Paul from 1976-2011 is legendary. Jack graduated from Central Catholic High School in East St. Louis, IL.

Jack started the annual high school Girls Basketball Tournament at St. Paul High School in 1986, which continues to this day at Highland High School. The following year the tournament was moved to HHS and has since expanded to one of the most prestigious sixteen teams event in southern Illinois. The tournament has featured many state championship teams and dozens of all-state players over the last 30-plus years. Jack was also the first girl’s high school soccer coach in the state of Illinois, starting in 1974. Since there were no other high schools to compete against, Jack persuaded an adult women’s league in Belleville to let the high school girls play in their league even though the girls didn’t meet the age requirement. Jack was the high school basketball coach at St. Paul for 15 years and the 5th and 6th grade boy’s basketball coach. Jack was a loving, giving, faithful individual, giving his time freely and always willing to help anyone or champion a good cause for St. Paul School and Parish and the Highland community. Besides athletics, Jack coordinated projects where high school students prepared yearly Easter baskets and Christmas gifts to underprivileged youth in East St. Louis; packed small bags of rice ingredients to be sent to people in Africa; and worked at senior citizen facilities to clean up the facilities and help with repairs. Jack led many high school students to World Youth Day in Rome, Italy; Sydney, Australia; Cologne, Germany; New Zealand; Canada; and Denver, Colorado.

Jack was recognized by Pope John Paul II for Young Ministry Work in 2013; was the Highland Police Board Commissioner for 30 years; awarded Citizen of the Year by the Highland Rotary Club in 2016, posthumously; awarded the Pauline Award at St. Paul for Ministry in Faith Formation in 2013 from St. Paul School; awarded the Father Tamulis Award for Family and Youth Ministry in 1999 by the Springfield diocese for service to St. Paul School; and coached several women’s softball teams for many years in the VFW and KC leagues. Jack started Cygan Catering Service in 1963 (now Cygan-Delaney Catering). Jack Cygan passed away in 2015.