Former Riverhead Firefighter Loses Brave Cancer Battle

Hearts were broken in Riverhead Tuesday as firefighter Thomas Jasinski lost his battle with lung cancer.

His family said Wednesday that a fundraiser planned for Sept. 21 at the Riverhead Elks Lodge will still go on as planned, to celebrate his life.

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

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."

The couple first met at a club when she was 19 and he was 23. After closing, the pair planned to meet at the Hampton Bays Diner. Katusha waited, but Jasinski never came; he'd been stopped by police because of racing "slicks" on his car and her phone number was lost.

Years passed, but Katusha never forgot the young man who loved racing cars and baseball and who had captured her heart.

Four years ago, fate brought them together at a bingo game. 

"He asked for my number. I never give anyone my number. I gave it to him twice," she said.

Later, the two realized that they had met years before — and their destiny was sealed.

Never married, Katusha said, "He was the only person I ever loved enough to want to marry. He was the one."

Waking up without him Wednesday made his death all too real, Katusha said. "My heart is broken," she said. "Waking up without him for first day, realizing he’s really gone."

Katusha promised Jasinsky that she would never leave his side during his illness, and she moved into his sister's Flanders home to help care for him.

In the hospital, Katusha laid down on the bed beside him as he took his last breath. "His last word before he passed was 'Marianne,'" she said. "I was telling how much I loved him, and to go to God. I told him he was my soul mate."

Two of Jasinski's daughters also were with their father during his last moments, Katusha said.

"He was every dream I had, my future," Katusha said.

The two had plans to move to a 43-acre farm with a pond, and to spend days fishing in the pond and enjoying their married life together.

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.

Katusha said when she learned her love had cancer, she bought him a wedding ring and placed it on his finger while he was sleeping. Later, he bought her one — today, she wears both and vows to keep them on her hand forever.

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 take place on Sept. 21, beginning from 9 to 11 .m., for registration, with a barbecue back at the Elks Lodge from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for the event.

A truck will be rolled out in his honor.

A service will be held on Thursday at the McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Thursday at 8 p.m. A private cremation will follow.

Firefighters are expected to turn out in force to pay their respects. 

"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."

He is survived by a his children Ricky Roche, Jaclyn Roche Guastella, Larissa Jasinski, Jamie Jasinksi, his brother Leon "Boots" Jasinski, his father Leon Jasinski, his sister Barbara Swislosky, and his six grandchildren.