Scholarship Recipient Meets Benefactor Moments Before His Fatal Heart Attack

It is a testament to Lawrence Tassone’s life that his final act was one of generosity and philanthropy.

Earlier this year, Brittany Ostasewski, a young nursing student at Delaware Technical Community College in Georgetown, was awarded the Delaware Community Foundation’s Elisabeth S. Tassone Oncology Scholarship.

Lawrence, who named the scholarship after his beloved wife after she passed away in 2017, loved to meet the scholarship award winners, and was looking forward to getting to know Ostasewski and hear about her career plans. On Aug. 16, they were scheduled to meet on the Del Tech campus for lunch and a photograph.

Tragically, shortly after Ostasewski met Tassone in Del Tech’s nursing office, he suffered a major heart attack and was rushed to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.

Stabilized, he was transferred to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, but suffered another heart attack and kidney failure there. He died on Aug. 20.

Ostasewski never got a chance to tell Tassone – “Tazz” to his friends – what his scholarship meant to her.

“I would have liked to thank Mr. Tassone for the honor in receiving this most generous gift in remembrance of his wife,” she said. “In the short time meeting him, I realized how much he truly loved her. This great gift will help me further my path in nursing. I will forever remember both their legacies and the good deeds of the Tassone family.”

After her graduation in May, Ostasewski will go on to complete her bachelor of science in nursing degree at Del Tech.

The DCF awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships each year, thanks to generous donors like Lawrence Tassone who are passionate about education. For more information about DCF scholarships, visit delcf.org/scholarships.

Donations in memory of Lawrence and his wife, Elisabeth, can be made at delcf.org/tassone.