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Kwamie Lassiter: Donations being accepted for wife, eight children of late Cardinals safety

Kwamie Lassiter died suddenly at age 49
Posted at 6:42 PM, Jan 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-14 18:55:55-05

For years, former Arizona Cardinals safety Kwamie Lassiter was there to lend a helping hand to Valley residents in need.

Now, after Lassiter's sudden passing, Cardinals fans have a chance to return the favor.

A benevolence fund for the family of Lassiter, a Valley resident who passed away Sunday at age 49, has been set up at Bank of Arizona locations in Mesa, Scottsdale, Phoenix and west Phoenix. Lassiter, who starred for the Cardinals from 1995-2002, died suddenly after suffering a heart attack while exercising. He is survived by his wife Ericka and eight children.

Michael Bankston, Lassiter's good friend and former teammate, said Lassiter made "countless contributions" in the community, even well beyond what was generally known.

"Kwamie would just be talking sometime -- 'Yeah, we just paid the rent for so and so' -- and he'd just be talking and not realizing (the good he had done)," Bankston said. "And I was like, 'Man you're doing some good things, but you don't let anybody know you're doing good things.' But that's good. He has a heart of gold. He'd give you the shirt off his back."