UF students and staff gave one last encore to late professor Paul Favini at a Monday afternoon memorial service.
The interim director of the UF School of Theatre and Dance and associate professor of costume design died a month ago after battling cancer for nearly three years, according to a Feb. 1 Alligator article.
Favini, 51, had been a faculty member since 2000.
Former theater and linguistics student Kristen Perry, 22, graduated in May 2011. Favini mentored her in costume design classes.
“He always brought such a fun-loving energy to our classroom and really knew how to lighten the mood, yet at the same time kept everyone focused,” she said.
Favini was involved in about 60 theatrical productions, according to his resume. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2009, said School of Theatre and Dance professor Kevin Marshall.
Almost all of the 420 seats at the Constans Theatre were filled for the ceremony.
Speakers ranged from Favini’s students and co-workers to his partner, John Reger.
They shared stories of Favini’s idiosyncrasies, from his insistence on colorful neckties and making his own curtains to his love of candy corn and Cole Porter songs.
English and theater senior Monica Gomez, 22, said she wishes she had gotten to know Favini better.
“I never had him as a teacher but he still knew my name — that’s what gets me,” she said.
Toward the end of the ceremony, Reger accepted a medallion on Favini’s behalf for his 12 years of service to the university.
Reger has partnered with UF to set up the Paul F. Favini Memorial Fund to benefit students and programs in the School of Theatreand Dance.
Musical theater senior Katrina Asmar, 24, sang “They Were You” from “The Fantasticks.” It was Favini’s favorite musical, said speaker Evans Haile.
“He was always behind me no matter how little of him I saw,” said Asmar. “I always felt like he was somebody who was backing me and believed in me from the beginning.”
Music theatre sophomore Alana Neuman sings at the memorial of Paul F. Favini, the interim director of the School of Theatre and Dance, in the Constans Theatre on Monday.
