A 54-year-old mission president for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has died while serving in Lyon, France.
Jason Michael Soulier died in his sleep Saturday after feeling ill for the past few days, church spokesperson Sam Penrod said in a news release. An official cause of death has not yet been determined.
Soulier lived in the Salt Lake City area before beginning his mission work in June, the spokesperson said. He hailed from the faith’s Salt Lake East Mill Creek Stake.
Soulier led the Lyon mission with his wife, Jennifer H. Soulier. She survives her husband, along with their four adult children.
“We express our love and deepest sympathies to President Soulier’s family and all the missionaries in the France Lyon Mission during this difficult time,” Penrod said. “We pray all will feel the Savior’s love as they honor and remember President Soulier’s faithful service.”
James W. McConkie III, second counselor in the church’s Europe Central Area Presidency, and his wife, Laurel, are traveling to Lyon, the spokesperson said, to support Jennifer Soulier and lead the mission temporarily. There are approximately 200 full-time missionaries now serving in the Lyon mission.
According to his LinkedIn page, Soulier worked in health care before beginning his scheduled three-year mission term in France. Most recently, he was “head of growth” at Evidently, which specializes in developing “data-driven medicine,” according to the company’s website.
Soulier was a University of Utah alumnus and served as student body president from May 1994 to April 1995.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, Soulier, a former bishop, previously served in a stake (regional) presidency, stake high council and mission presidency, the faith’s Church News has reported. As a young man, he filled proselytizing mission the the Switzerland Geneva Mission.
His death represents the ninth publicly reported death of a full-time Latter-day Saint missionary this year, exceeding the seven known to have died in 2023.
