Former Press and Journal sub-editor Laurenne D’Agostino has died aged 61.
She spent seven years working on the sports desk of the newspaper after more than a decade working at the Independent in London.
Laurenne, who grew up in Stonehaven, made her home in Inverbervie after returning to Scotland to be closer to her mother who lived in Kinneff.
Stonehaven
She was born in August 1960 to Mike and Sheila D’Agostino, who lived at Robert Street, Stonehaven.
Laurenne was educated at Mackie Academy where she studied languages, including Latin, and became a prefect.
After leaving school she went to Canada to work as an au pair and to get to know relatives who lived in Toronto.
Oil industry
On her return to Aberdeen she took an administrative job with oil firm BNOC before working for Britoil, ConocoPhillips, Shell, then Mobil.
While she was still in her 20s, Laurenne moved to London to take a job as an accounts manager with the Independent newspaper.
She always had a passion for sport and, in 1995, made the transition to her dream job as a sports sub-editor.
In 2007, partly due to the death of her father and a yearning for Scotland, Laurenne decided to move from London to Inverbervie.
She landed a sports sub-editor’s job at The Press and Journal, working from its then offices at Lang Stracht, Aberdeen, until ill health forced her to stop work in 2014.
Her uncle, Chris D’Agostino, said: “Laurenne first became ill in 2012 when diagnosed with stage four colon cancer, but she never wanted to know the prognosis; her attitude was very much she would fight it no matter what.
“She took part in a ground-breaking clinical trial that her oncologist managed to get her enrolled on.
Cancer trial
“It was gruelling but proved to be beneficial as Laurenne managed to survive longer than all the other trial participants.
“She gave a lot of very valuable feedback, which will benefit future cancer patients with similar symptoms.
“And so, a big thank you from all her family to friends, oncology team, doctors, carers, and nurses who rallied around during Laurenne’s prolonged illness.”