Mason James Lassiter passed away April 10, 2019 at 17 years of age in Spartanburg, South Carolina. 

He was born January 15, 2002 in Redlands, California to Dee (nee Jaerger) and Matt Lassiter. He moved to the Tryon area in 2011 and immediately began making friends. He was an Honor Roll student at Polk County Early College. 

Mason loved life. He enjoyed making people laugh. Sundays you could find him playing basketball at Polk Middle School with friends of all ages. He loved trout fishing in Polk County and enjoying sushi with friends and family. Mason was a Los Angeles Lakers fan and never failed to point out Ford Rangers like his. He brought joy to everyone who knew him. 

Mason had already begun work on his senior project, an ambitious effort to rehabilitate the open-air basketball court at Harmon Field. Many Polk County residents and businesspeople knew him from his efforts on this project and were eager to lend a hand. 

Mason is part of a large extended family. He is survived by his mother and father, Dee (nee Jaerger) and Matt Lassiter of Tryon, NC. His brother, Anthony Lassiter, of Tryon, NC. Grandparents Rosemary and Darrell Jaerger of Yucaipa, CA and John and Sally Lassiter of Landrum, SC. Aunts Jessica (Adam) Panos and Darlana Dotson of Yucaipa, CA and uncles Joel (Jennifer) Lassiter of Brooklyn, NY and David (Ann) Lawson of Startex, SC. He was preceded in death by an uncle, Anthony Jaerger of Yucaipa, CA. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 3 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2971 Skyuka Road, Columbus, NC. 

Currently the family is not directing donations to a charity. In the future the effort to rehabilitate the basketball court at Harmon Field will be continued by friends of Mason who have already voiced their intention to see it completed. At that time the Tryon Daily Bulletin will have information regarding how the community can help.