Those who spoke about Joaquin Bustoz said he was more than a teacher. He was the father figure of ASU's math department.
An overflow crowd of family, friends and faculty gathered to remember the 63-year-old math professor at a memorial service Thursday.
Bustoz died Aug. 13 of complications from injuries sustained in a car accident as he returned from dropping off his grandson at summer camp on July 6.
Bustoz was born in Tempe and earned his bachelor's, master's and doctorate in math from ASU.
"He's gruff, but he's beautiful inside," a phrase coined by Erica Gonzalez-Melendez about her former instructor, was the refrain as 17 speakers addressed the crowd at the Galvin Playhouse in the Fine Arts Building.
Speakers said Bustoz was not only an award-winning mathematician, but also a champion of the underprivileged and mentor to hundreds of students who participated in his classes and programs.
"He never doubted me," said Eira Rodriguez, another former student and participant in Bustoz's Summer Math-Science Honors program for high school students.
"He taught us not only math, but also unselfishness, kindness and compassion," Rodriguez said.
Several students recalled how Bustoz initially seemed an imposing, intimidating figure. But they said he could see through rigid facts and figures in textbooks and perceive his students' need to be built up.
He used math as a tool to create confidence, they said, and many of his students became math teachers themselves, often serving in communities that sorely lacked every kind of educational resource.
Tina Tsinigini, a Navajo student whom Bustoz recruited, recounted how she was rescued from giving up on math by Bustoz's enthusiasm and confidence in her.
When she had successfully completed her education, she said, he asked her, "What are you going to build in Tuba City?"
Bustoz's kindness and concern for others permeated his work and provided an example for his family. Gonzalez-Melendez, who could only afford to attend ASU because Bustoz found a scholarship and meal plan for her, remembered his constant admonition to "make this world a better place."
Bustoz's son, Matt Bustoz, recalled sharing his childhood home at Thanksgiving with numerous guests who had nowhere else to go. He said his father would always say, "What are you doing for the poor?"
Bustoz made his family a high priority, too, lifting weights regularly with Matt and attending all his soccer games.
Bustoz's influence wasn't confined to his university or even his country. He reached places like his immigrant parents' native Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. During his travels, he was a resource for students who needed scholarships.
A letter from a math professor in Colombia, read aloud at the service by Bustoz's former student Luis Gordillo, said in part that Bustoz's visits there became "a defining moment in the history of math in Colombia."
Peter Crouch, dean of ASU's Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, was initially hired at ASU by Bustoz. At the memorial, Crouch recalled after the service how Bustoz would often make elaborate plans for simple adventures.
"He would have great passion for doing something," Crouch said. "One time we spent the day planning a fishing trip and then went fishing for half an hour."
Reach the reporter at jesse.christopherson@asu.edu.
