The highly respected footballer’s passing has been met with an outpouring of grief and disbelief with the 24-year-old a well-known and much loved figure in the Queanbeyan community.
Tragically, Lasscock passed away just hours after his daughter Mia’s fourth birthday.
In the wake of his death, Lasscock’s family have spoken of a man devoted to his wife Samantha and three young children Cooper, Mia and Harper.
“We’ll have so many memories of Jay but probably the main thing I’ll always remember is his dedication to his family and his kids, they meant everything to him,” Lasscock’s father-in-law Rob Gardiner told The Queanbeyan Age.
“That was just him. He was a young fella but he had an old head on his shoulders and we were so proud of him.”
Gardiner said the two had last spoken on Saturday while celebrating Mia’s birthday at a fairy themed party in Canberra.
“The family had organised a birthday party for his daughter [Mia] on the Saturday, a fairy party out at Mitchell and Jay was looking after the kids for the weekend,” Gardiner said. I was out there with him and he was his usual self. It was a just a good afternoon all round, I said goodbye to him afterward and that was it.”
A Queanbeyan Blues junior from the under-6s, Lasscock represented the Canberra Raiders through the club’s development ranks and was also a two-time NSW Country representative in 2010 and 2011.
Widely regarded as one of the toughest and most talented forwards in the Canberra competition, Lasscock had pursued a career in the National Rugby League, playing a trial match for the Raiders against the Gold Coast in 2008.
Off the field, Lasscock worked for Essential Energy in Queanbeyan where he was well regarded by his colleagues.
“Speaking with his boss, he said to me Jay was always the first bloke to pull on his boots and take the lead,” Gardiner said.
“Jay set himself very high standards in everything he did and he always did his very best, there were no half measures,” he said. “He gave 100 per cent to everything, to his family, his football, his job and his mates, that was him through and through.”
Lasscock is survived by his wife Samantha and his three children Cooper, Mia and Harper. A requiem mass in Lasscock’s honour will be held at St Raphael’s Catholic Church, Lowe Street, Queanbeyan on Tuesday commencing at 1.30pm.