Antonio A. FERNANDEZ

It seems like only yesterday that we lost our dear friend and colleague, Antonio Fernandez. I was flooded with memories of Antonio just before receiving this invitation to add comments on this site. I had received notice that I was to conduct a training at Virginia Tech at the end of July. The training site has since been moved to Leesburg, VA, but my memories of Antonio and Virginia Tech and ACTFL workshops took center stage just the same. It is through these sudden moments that...

Antonio will always be missed. He had such a noticeable presence.

Antonio, you are very much missed.

I remember Antonio with such great fondness and at the most surprising moments in my busy life. Every time I conduct some oral proficiency training, I play one of Antonio's model interviews both because his testing is so worthy of emulation and because, in this small way, I pay homage to him and his memory. That deep, melodious voice of his will resonate with me througout my life.

Antonio was a very good friend that I will always remember. We worked together and talked for hours about work, life in Cuba, Virginia Tech and his amazing family in St. Petersburg. I still miss him and remember him frequently. I can't believe that 6 years have already passed!

My deepest condolences go out to Anotnio's family. He was such a vibrant part of our ACTFL community, and we will miss him dearly. I worked with Antonio on numerous occasions, training at many different workshops, as well as on a variety of other interesting projects. He was a remarkable man in so many ways, professionally and personally. He was so generous with his time and knowledge, and a delightful presence always. He will be sorely missed. With deepest sadness and sympathy.

I am so sad to hear of Antonio's passing. It was a great honor to be his trainee this past December at USC and am grateful for all I learned from him. Above all I will remember his kind and gentle spirit,and his great story-telling abilities. My deepest condolences to his family.

I am so sad to hear about Antonio's passing, but I am appreciative that I was able to be part of the ACTFL OPI trainer team with him at USC last December. How could he move on so quickly when I was just starting to get to know him? He was a wonderful professional---so thoughtful and generous, very even-tempered, observant, and fair---and such an articulate intellectual! I feel honored to have known Antonio and to be part of the ACTFL family that includes such marvelous people like...