TOLONO — He cooked delicious pasta and sang with a powerful voice. But Robert "Bob" Aimone will be remembered most as a teacher who touched the lives of generations of students.

The Unit 7 community lost a larger-than-life figure earlier this week when Mr. Aimone, 78, died at 8:03 a.m. Sunday at C-U Regional Rehab, Savoy.

Mr. Aimone primarily taught mathematics at Unity High School in Tolono, but also taught physics and chemistry at times during a career that ran from 1959 to 2001. He was either adviser or assistant adviser to the student council the entire time, and in January, the school renamed its student council scholarship in honor of him.

After Mr. Aimone retired from Unity, he served as a part-time mathematics teacher at St. Thomas School in Philo. He taught high school religion classes at St. Patrick Church in Tolono for 40 years.

In 2004, Mr. Aimone was presented with the Paideia Award at the High School of St. Thomas More, Champaign. The award honors those who have shown active commitment to Catholic education through significant contributions in the local community.

Roger Kleiss was a former math and religion student of Mr. Aimone's, who later taught alongside him at Unity.

Mr. Aimone wore a suit jacket and tie to work every day of his career, even on the hottest days at the school that had no air conditioning at the time.

"His hair was always perfect," Kleiss added.

Kleiss recalled that the school once conducted a focus group of students under then-Principal Don Akers. Students were asked what they look for in a teacher.

"They said, 'We notice people like Mr. Aimone. He dresses like he cares about his job,'" Kleiss said.

When Kleiss first started teaching, he decided to grow a beard.

"Kleiss, shave that thing off," Mr. Aimone told him.

"I said, 'Jesus had a beard,'" Kleiss said. "I thought I had him with that. But then he said, 'He had a lot more going for him.'"

Although Mr. Aimone had a reputation as a very stern teacher who would not tolerate students chewing gum or wearing shorts in class, Kleiss said, he always had students' respect.

"He showed he cared," Kleiss said. "You almost felt bad because he gave you a detention."

Mr. Aimone was also known for his dedication.

Kleiss recalled that during his first year of teaching, he had driven home to Sadorus at the start of Christmas break and had to return to the school for something he had forgotten.

"It was about 8 at night, and there was one light on in Room 8 — his room," Kleiss said.

Mr. Aimone was painstakingly grading all of his students' algebra notebooks, which they were expected to keep "immaculately neat," Kleiss remembered.

"He was just an amazing man," Kleiss said.

Nearly every student who has been inducted into Unity High School's Alumni Hall of Fame since 2004 has cited Mr. Aimone as one of the teachers who influenced them. Kleiss believes part of the reason is that Mr. Aimone was a constant presence at school events, doing everything from keeping statistics for sports teams to decorating for homecoming dances.

"It sounds like a simple thing, but it's a matter of time," Kleiss explained. "For him, teaching was not an 8-to-3 job. Kids noticed."

Kleiss said many people wondered why a man who dedicated his life to educating young people never married and had children of his own. Kleiss has a theory.

"His wife was the church, and his kids were the Unity kids," he said.

Growing up, Justin Kirby knew Mr. Aimone through a mutual friend and later had him as both an algebra and catechism teacher.

"He was just a great role model, a very devoted Catholic," Kirby said. "He loved his Italian heritage. He was a disciplinarian, which was what we needed."

On Monday, Kirby started a Facebook fan page for Mr. Aimone, which as of Tuesday morning had 196 members. Dozens of people shared stories there about how Mr. Aimone influenced their lives.

"He treated everybody the same," Kirby said. "He cared about everybody. He was equally tough on everyone; he didn't play favorites. People are appreciating him more now that they're older and wiser and see the benefits of what he taught."

Kirby recalled that in Mr. Aimone's catechism class one year, everybody drew names out of a hat and prayed for that person during Lent. On Kirby's wedding day, Mr. Aimone showed him the piece of paper with his name on it, which the teacher had kept in his Bible.

"He told me he had been praying for me every day," Kirby said. "That was the kind of guy he was."

Kirby said he and other high school students admired the devotion that led Mr. Aimone to do things like give up meat for all of Lent.

"A lot of kids (that age) move away from the church, but he inspired us to move closer," Kirby said.

Mr. Aimone was godfather to about two dozen children. Many former students' homes have crucifixes that he gave as wedding gifts.

"He's going to be missed," Kirby said.

Charlie Huber came to Tolono to teach in 1963 and met Mr. Aimone through their shared occupation and through church. Mr. Aimone also served as statistician for the varsity basketball team that Huber coached.

"His teaching and faith were the two main things in his life," Huber said. "I think probably where he will stand out in my mind is as a leader in faith. He not only believed it, but he lived it."

Huber said students would inevitably want to chat with Mr. Aimone when they saw him at school functions.

"He probably never saw 5 minutes of a football game," Huber said. "Kids really respected him. I think they saw the example he set. When he gave a test, he always gave it back graded the next day.

"There'll just never be another one like him," Huber said.