The circumstances of a 33-year-old found dead in St. Paul’s bitter cold may always be a mystery, his family said Wednesday. But they hope Mario Folkner’s passing will be a reminder to everyone: “Look out for each other, check on each other … this cold is just unbearable,” his mother said.

Folkner was discovered outside his Summit-University home about 11:30 a.m. New Year’s Day and pronounced dead at the scene. Temperatures dropped as low as 14 degrees below zero as of 8 a.m. Monday, according to the National Weather Service.

Folkner was a longtime and popular worker at Mama’s Pizza on Rice Street, and the father of 2- and 5-year-old daughters. On Sunday, he hoped to see his daughters — the youngest girl’s birthday was that day — but it didn’t work out, his family said.

That night, Folkner was celebrating New Year’s Eve with his friends at a house on Aurora Avenue home, near Grotto Street, where he rented a room. They were drinking, though Folkner’s friends told his mother he hadn’t overdone it.

One of Folkner’s friends later told Cheryl Folkner that he went outside to smoke a cigarette and never came back in. Another told her that Mario Folkner wasn’t feeling well, went up to bed and, at some point, he must have gone outside to have a cigarette.

“I don’t know what happened, but that’s when he collapsed and fell and whatever happened to him, happened to him,” Cheryl Folkner said, adding they don’t know how long he was outside, but that he was wearing a tank top. “We don’t know and we probably will never know.”

Folkner’s final Facebook posts came minutes apart, not long after midnight. He wrote, “Happy new years.” Two minutes later, he posted a tribute to his daughter who had just turned 2, saying, “this day changed my world malenna daddy loves you.” His last post was two minutes after that — a photo of a bottle of champagne.

Police have ruled out foul play, his mother said, and a ruling on Folkner’s cause of death is pending toxicology results, according to the Ramsey County medical examiner’s office. He didn’t have a history of any medical problems, Cheryl Folkner said.

Mario Folkner grew up on St. Paul’s East Side and moved to the North End, right by Mama’s Pizza, when he was 14 years old. Soon after, he started working at the pizza shop and he never stopped. He started as a dishwasher and worked up to a prep cook.

“He made the sauce, he made the sausage, he was the champion at how many sausages could be made in 10 minutes,” Cheryl Folkner said. “He was so proud of that.”

Cheryl Folkner said Mario was a loving son who helped her a lot, especially after she had surgeries in recent years — he drove her around and carried her up and down stairs when she was in a wheelchair.

But Mario’s mother said she had no idea how many other people knew and cared about him until Mama’s Pizza posted a tribute to him on Facebook on Tuesday. More than 150 people had commented on the post as of Wednesday night, expressing their condolences and memories of Mario. Related Articles Minneapolis and St. Paul to add 70 electric car charging stations

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A celebration of Mario Folkner’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Jan. 12 at the Bradshaw Funeral Home on Rice Street.

His family says memorial donations will be put into a trust fund for Mario’s daughters. Memorials can be directed to Cheryl Folkner, c/o Bradshaw Funeral Home, 1078 Rice St., St. Paul, MN 55117.

“They meant a lot to him,” said Angie Ryder, Mario’s sister. “He loved his girls.”