Sylvia Doris (Haskell) Saulnier, 96, of Knoxville, TN passed away peacefully on January 5, 2026 surrounded by her loved ones.

Sylvia enjoyed a long, blessed life. The daughter of the late William and Doris (Hewins) Haskell, Sylvia was born and raised in Whitman, MA.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, David Saulnier, her daughter Susan Singer, her son-in-law Raymond Abels, and two of her brothers, William Haskell and Richard Haskell.

She is survived by her brother, Charles Haskell, and her three daughters: Kathleen Abels of Daytona Beach, FL; Rebecca Saulnier and wife Susan Weaver of Caswell Beach, NC; and Tricia Saulnier Littlejohn and husband Stephen Littlejohn of Conover, NC, along with many nieces and nephews. Her surviving grandchildren and great-grandchildren include: David Snodgrass (Shawna), James Snodgrass (Alison), Jason Snodgrass, Dylan Snodgrass, Jessica Snodgrass, Ashley Snodgrass, William Snodgrass, Donald Littlejohn, Tess Painter (Jordan), Alicia Littlejohn, Landon Painter, Levi Painter, and Rylee Painter.

Sylvia led a full and faithful life. She and Dave moved into and out of around 50 houses over the course of their marriage. They would buy a fixer upper and live in it while fixing it up. Once the house started looking pretty good, the “For Sale” sign went up in the yard and they moved on to their next project. Sylvia enjoyed planting gardens and decorating her many homes.

They spent many years in New England (MA, NH, VT). But also lived in GA, NJ, Guam, Charleston and Summerville, SC, and the Territory of Alaska before it became a state. After Dave’s death in 2002, Sylvia spent 20 years living in Caldwell, OH. Seventeen of those years were in the companionship of Willard Radcliff until his death in 2020. Sylvia moved to Knoxville, TN in 2022 to be closer to family.

Her family is grateful to have shared so many decades with her in this life. She’s seen the Great Depression, WWII, space travel, the jitterbug, disco, and all the joys and trials in between. She’s made thousands of flowers grow and heard the songs of as many birds. She enjoyed playing cards, reading books, and listening to music. After decades of playing whist, her card game of choice in later years was “Kings in the Cornah”. She never quite lost her Boston accent.

Through the years, Sylvia made sure her life was full of smiles and laughter. She always said “laughter keeps you young”.

She trusted God to direct her in all things. She prayed often, for everyone, and over every decision.

Our feisty little Nana will be missed so much by so many. But we are lucky to have stored up enough happy memories to keep us smiling and laughing for a lifetime!

Family and friends are invited to remember Sylvia at Blanchard’s Funeral Chapel in Whitman, MA on Friday, January 16th. Visitation will be held from 12-2pm with a memorial service at 2pm followed directly by a graveside service at Colebrook Cemetery in Whitman.