Family, friends and colleagues held a memorial for Hugo Chacon, a former Sacramento State professor of Bilingual Multicultural Education, on Wednesday in Hinde Auditorium of the University Union.

Chacon died last September of pancreatic cancer at age 43.

An array of speakers depicted Chacon in glowing terms at the event.

They described him as a caring man, who was always willing to make time for students and colleagues.

Michael Lewis, dean of the College of Education on campus, whose remarks were read because he was too ill to attend the service, remembered Chacon’s life as one marked by grace, humor and professionalism.

“Hugo was always open to the challenges of life,” Virginia Dixon, the associate dean of the college of education, said.

“He was durable, he knew how to hang in t here when others might have resigned,” Dixon said.

Professor Jose Cintorn, of the Bilingual Multicultural Department, a personal friend of Chacon, said Chacon grew up in Mexico and attended high school in the United States.

Chacon then went to seminary school but didn’t become a priest.

Instead, Chacon earned a doctorate degree from the University of New Mexico, specializing in science.

That specialty affected a number of children’s lives, 10 of whom attended the memorial.

They spoke of their admiration of Chacon for funding a garden, which served as a science lab, at the Language Academy of Sacramento in Oak Park.

Chacon is survived by his wife Mitzi; his parents, who live in Los Angeles and weren’t at the memorial; three brothers and one sister; and six children.

Referring to Chacon’s large family, Cintron joked about what “a good Catholic Hugo was.”

Chacon’s oldest son, Sean, read a moving poem, entitled “Hope From Darkness,” at the event.

The poem addressed the difficulty one faces when a loved one dies, and it elicited a resounding ovation when he finished.

The memorial concluded with a Power Point montage of photographs of Chacon’s life and family.

His oldest daughter, Margaret Chacon, compiled the presentation, which included photos of a rafting adventure, the Chacon children in their baseball uniforms and many shots of Chacon celebrating with family and friends.

A mural dedicated to Chacon can be seen in Eureka 435.

Norm Erickson can be reached at [email protected],/b>