Mechelle Ann Hawk
Mechelle Ann Hawk, 47, of Slippery Rock, passed away at 6:18 a.m. Thursday with her family at her side at her home.
She was born Sept. 28, 1961, in Pekin, Ill., to Ernest Tassart Jr. and the late Pauline Rinaldo Tassart.
She was a beautiful, strong, principled, courageous and loving woman who, while defeated by colon cancer at the tender age of 47, never once surrendered in her three-year-long battle with the disease.
Throughout her life, Mechelle was a caring pillar of strength and a moral compass for her children, Austin and Kyle, and the hundreds of music students whose lives she touched.
She was an active mother in her sons' sports and musical organizations, enjoyed playing the flute, directing and playing in her church handbell choir, loved the beach and loved her dogs dearly.
Mechelle was loved and respected by all who knew her and will be terribly missed by those who have survived her, which includes her bereaved husband, Stephen L., who she married Jan. 6, 1984 in Ottawa, Ill.
Also surviving are two sons, Austin M. and Kyle W.; one stepson, Christopher S.; and one step-daughter-in-law, Sandra of Morris, Ill.; her father Ernest Tassart Jr. of Pekin, Ill.; two sisters, Janet Greenway and Diana Miller, both of Pekin, Ill.; her mother-in-law, Betty J. Hawk of Ottawa, Ill. and many nieces and nephews.
<B>HAWK</B> — Family and friends of Mechelle Ann Hawk, who died Thursday, July 23, 2009, will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, July 31, at the <B>Smith Funeral Home</B>, 421 New Castle St., Slippery Rock. There will be a Celebration of Life service in Swope Music Hall on the campus of Slippery Rock University at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, presided by the Rev. Dr. Thomas J. Bodie and the Rev. Thomas Gomola.Memorial contributions may be made to the Mechelle Hawk Music Education Scholarship c/o: SRU Foundation Office, 100 Old Main, Slippery Rock, 16057.
