Donations Trickle to Humane Society in Memory of the Gasparres

Days before Christmas, Lynette Gasparre adopted a 4-month-old kitten from the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society shelter as a present for her daughter Quinn, 7.

She settled on a tiny, grey shorthair that had come to the shelter as a stray, and she named her Hope.

The Gasparre family has chosen the humane society on Pittsburgh's North Side as the charity to memorialize Lynette, 38, Quinn and Lynette’s baby daughter Nina. Police have said the three were killed May 21 in a murder-suicide by Lynette’s live-in boyfriend and Nina’s father Barry Hardesty, 43, at their home on Beulah Road in Shaler.

Until early May, the family had lived on Sylvia Avenue in Ross, near Lynette’s parents, Anna and Edward Baugher.

Anna Baugher said her daughter and granddaughter were animal lovers. As of June 1, the shelter had received one donation in an amount it would not disclose. Humane society Executive Director Lee Nester said she expected donations to “trickle in over time.”

Nestor expressed appreciation for the fund and sadness over the loss of life.

“We’re pleased [to know] the Gasparres were happy with the kitty they adopted and grateful that memorial contributions are slated to come here to help other pets in need of homes,” said Nester.

“We just wish it weren’t under these circumstances, that something this tragic happened in our community.”

The fate of Quinn’s cat, Hope, is not known, Shaler police said.

Police said Hardesty shot the family before turning the gun on himself after an argument about Lynette’s relationship with Quinn’s father Jason Gasparre, of New York. Shortly before she was killed, police said, Quinn called her maternal grandmother in alarm over Hardesty’s threatening behavior.

A third-grader at in Ross, Quinn was remembered as a vibrant child who had developed a special bond with teacher’s aide Holly Recker of West View. In an online tribute to Quinn, Recker described “a beautiful, outgoing, full-of-life little girl” whom she would “miss dearly.”

“I will miss our talks that we would have every day,” wrote Recker, who described the death of the little girl as akin to losing a piece of her heart.

Although the refused to make teachers available for comment, district spokesman Tina Vojtko said Quinn’s death shook students and school personnel.

“This was Quinn’s first year here, so we were just getting to know her,” Vojtko said. “It’s a difficult time because we’ve had to deal with informing very young children that one of their friends passed away, and teachers are trying to keep things together for themselves as well as the kids.”

“My heart breaks as we struggle with the questions ‘Why?’ How could something like this happen?’”

Lynette is survived by her parents. In addition to her maternal grandparents, Quinn is survived by her father, Jason Gasparre; her fraternal grandparents, Patricia & Louis Gasparre; her great-grandfather, "Pappy", and many aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Nina is also survived by her maternal grandparents, Edward and Anna Baugher.

Donations in memory of Lynn, Quinn, and Nina can be made to Western PA Humane Society, 1101 Western Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Condolences may be left for the Gasparre and Baugher Families online at www.schellhaasfh.com.