Don't Miss: Fundraiser for Firefighter Who Lost Brave Cancer Battle

After firefighter Thomas Jasinski lost his battle with lung cancer recently, his family said a fundraiser planned for Saturday at the Riverhead Elks Lodge would go on as planned.

"It will be a memorial party," Barbara Swislosky, Jasinski's sister, said.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to pay Jasinski's medical bills. Over 100 gift baskets have already been collected. The event, a poker bike run, will begin with registration beginning at 9, and a barbecue back at the Elks Lodge after the run, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Jasinkski, 55, was diagnosed with lung cancer in May. Along with the poker bike run fundraiser organized by his fiance Marianne Katusha, his daughter, Jackie Roche Guastella had fundraising efforts on Facebook and on the Giveforward "Fighting 4 TJ" page.

Katusha said she and the love of her life planned to be married in November.

"This man was not only my hero, he was my best friend — the best man I ever knew," she said.

Jasinksi spent 22 years serving with the Riverhead Fire Department, she said. 

"He would do anything for anyone — he was so deeply committed to his community." Jaskinski received the first responder award multiple times, she said.

"He was very deeply committed to his family and to me," she said.

Even with Stage 4 cancer, Jasinski helped Katusha with a move, helping to pack a truck despite his challenges.

"That's heroism," she said.

On her fundraising page, Jasinki's daughter Guastella said her dad was "a devoted, loving son, father of four, and grandfather of six."

A retired security guard for the Riverhead Central School District, "He has taken on many roles in his life to save the lives of others, and protect the citizens in and out of his community," Guastella said.

His fiance sobbed quietly as she spoke of the couple's last days. "I'm so broken," she said. "He will always be my hero. He was my soul mate. I will never love again."

Jasinski is remembered as a man who loved his grandchildren, filling the house with presents at Christmas time and visiting his daughter Jackie when she lived in Tennessee, attending his grandchildren's school events.

"He truly was a great man and will be deeply missed by many," Guastella said.

He was also an ardent animal lover, including his dog Bella.

"My dad was, and will always be, my inspiration in life and my hero," Guastella said. "He was always there for me and my family. I love my dad with all my heart and I know his spirit will always live on through me and my children."