Francisco "Paco" Vilallonga

1919 - 2019

VILALLONGA,
FRANCISCO 'PACO'
Gainesville, Florida - Francisco 'Paco' Vilallonga, a longtime resident of Gainesville, FL, died peacefully on May 14, 2019 at the age of 99. He was the beloved husband of Olga G. Vilallonga, his wife of 69 years. Paco was born in Havana, Cuba on September 7, 1919, the eldest child of the late Pedro Vilallonga and Maria de la Asuncion Rafart Vilallonga.
In Cuba, Paco was employed by Compania Comercial Gancedo for 23 years, where he started as an accountant and progressed to the role of Vice President of Financial Affairs.
In 1961, Paco and his family left Cuba and moved to Spain during the Cuban exodus, which meant starting their lives all over again. They relocated to Gainesville in 1967 where Paco began working at Shands Hospital. From 1972 until his retirement in 1997, he worked as the accountant for the College of Health Related Professions. Paco was known as the 'resident computer' who quickly and accurately compiled and analyzed data. One of his proudest accomplishments at UF was transitioning the College accounting from a manual operation to a fully computerized system. For this and all of his additional contributions, Paco was recognized with the College's first Employee of the Year Award. The National Institute of Health's Division of Research Resources honored him for his work administering the NIH's Scientific Review and Evaluation Award System. Paco always expressed great pride in working for UF and UF Health.
In addition to his wife, Paco is survived by his daughter Olga V. (Carlos M. del Sol), his granddaughters Adrianne (Philip Petersen), Melissa (David P. Bowman), great granddaughter, cousins, nephews, niece, and sister-in-law. He was predeceased by his sister Hilda Vilallonga and brother Pedro M. Vilallonga.
Throughout his life, he lived by the motto, 'It does not cost anything to say 'hello' to anyone.' This approach led to many cherished lifelong friendships at work and in the community. He will be remembered for his devotion to his family and faith, his sense of humor, and his strong moral character.
A mass in memory of Paco will be held on Saturday, July 13 at 3:00 PM at Queen of Peace Catholic Community, 10900 SW 24th Avenue, Gainesville, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ronald McDonald House of Gainesville, 1600 SW 14th Street, Gainesville, FL 32608.