Former faculty Stancato remembered for love of teaching, football

Many at Central Michigan University remember Franklin Anthony Stancato as an instructor who always invested his time in students and faculty.

The emeritus faculty member died Feb. 14 in Colorado Springs at the age of 79.

Stancato was in the Teacher Education and Professional Development department at CMU and, after completing his doctorate degree at Notre Dame in 1968, taught at CMU in the Secondary Education Department for 38 years.

Stancato was a man known for his love of football, especially the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

“I think he had Irish blood, even with a name like Stancato,” said Thomas Kromer, teacher education and professional development professor, who knew Stancato for close to 40 years.

Kromer said he remembers Stancato’s enthusiasm for teaching.

“The students liked him; he had a lot of energy in the classrooms, he always had time for students, he was really eager to help (them),” Kromer said,

Stancato also was an avid researcher who published well into his later years and was academically active, Kromer said.

“He was in his 70s doing research (and) he still published, he wrote articles, but he didn’t have a computer. He would hire someone to type it up and make sure it was perfect,” Kromer said.

Charlie Kiel, a Lake Isabella resident and Village of Lake Isabella treasurer, knew Stancato from his involvement in the community.

“We talked about everything from playing sports to the kids in college,” said Kiel.

Stancato always had a smile on his face, Kiel said, and was a fun-loving type of person.

Marguerite Terrill, a Teacher Education and Professional Development professor, said Stancato was very helpful.

Terrill knew Stancato for 13 years professionally and would sometimes see him walking his dog in her neighborhood, never failing to greet her.

“Frank was always willing to take time to chat with people in professional and personal settings,” Terrill said. “He was a very warm and friendly person who was easy to like.”