Jessica L. Rolfe (Vasquez), 29, of Nichols since 2007 passed away unexpectedly on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008.
Jessica was born in Sayre, Pa. on April 4, 1979 and grew up in Bradford County and Tioga County, N.Y. where she graduated from Owego Free Academy in 1997. In school, she was active in sports, mentored junior high Computer Science students, won awards from the DARE Program for an essay on teenage drug prevention and the SUNY Binghamton Regional Poetry Contest for a narrative poem, “A Slave I Am.”
 She attended the Upward Bound Scholastic Advancement Program at SUNY Binghamton (1996) and was a member and officer of the Triangle Masonic Youth Group for Young Women, Endicott, NY Chapter; SCAMPS Gymnastic Team, Owego, NY winning several competition awards and played on area softball teams.
She attended Tompkins Cortland Community College from 1997 to 1999, leaving school in 1999 to marry Thomas Vasquez of Cortland, N.Y. In 2002, she returned to school at Tompkins Cortland Community College, graduating Magna Cum Laude in December 2005 and May 2006 with degrees in Paralegal and Business Administration. While attending school, she served as a student representative on several college boards and committees.
She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, Alpha Gamma Nu Chapter and served as Scholarship VP, Regional VP Secretary and President. She was a recipient of the Freeman Science Award and established the Winds of Change Fund Raiser and Tsunami Rock Benefit. She attended the NY Regional Convention in March 2006 as a voting delegate and attended several nationwide meetings of regional and state chapters. In 2006, she was elected to Who’s Who among Students in American Junior Colleges. In addition, she held management positions in the restaurant and health care fields and worked as a Paralegal for the Shaw Law Firm of Ithaca, NY.
Jessica is survived by her mother, Denise Rolfe of Waverly: her paternal half-sister, Nixie (Tom) Bostwick and their daughter Jasmine of Athens: her grandmother, Joyce Sullivan of Nichols: her grandfather and step-grandmother, Don and Marla Rolfe of South. Waverly; her aunts and uncles, Donna Rolfe of Waverly; Joe (Midge) Rolfe and their grandson Justin of Barton; Gary (Barbara) Rolfe and their children of Nazareth, Pa.; Christine Lukas and friend Debbie Cornell of Sayre; her extended family, Larry and Kim Hartz and their children Ashley and Arik of Cumberland, M.D.; her three great aunts and several cousins, her special friends, George Ferguson and his children of Nichols; and Jason Dunn of Wysox; her husband, Thomas Vasquez and his children, Dustin, Jessica and Ayla of Cortland, NY and her multitude of loving friends. Plans for a memorial service are incomplete and will be announced at a later time.  Jay E. Lowery Funeral Home, Inc., 225 South Main Street, Athens, Pa. has been entrusted with the arrangements.  (For those unable to attend the services and wish to sign the E-guestbook and send condolences may do so by visiting  www.loweryfuneralhome.com.