Abelardo Hernando, an adjunct assistant professor in the Spanish and Portuguese department for over 15 years, died of lung cancer last Wednesday.

According to an email from the Office of the Provost, Hernando died in the care of hospice, while accompanied by family and friends, after falling ill last spring. He did not teach at Georgetown this fall.

According to Alfonso Morales-Front, chair of the department of Spanish and Portuguese, Hernando began feeling ill last spring but continued to teach through the end of the semester. The lung cancer diagnosis came as a surprise, especially since Hernando did not have a history of cancer-causing behaviors.

“He never smoked. He was never in a place that we can assume was bad for his health,” Morales-Front said.

Hernando worked for over 15 years in the department of Spanish and Portuguese, where he gained a reputation among faculty and students as a passionate and amicable teacher who cared deeply for his students.

According to Michael Ferreira, assistant professor in the Spanish and Portuguese department, Hernando’s students held him in high regard.

“I passed by his classroom frequently and it always struck me that despite teaching past the scheduled time, no one would get up and leave until he was finished,” Ferreira said in an email. “I always sensed respect and gratitude from his students in their interactions with him.”

Laurel Charnetsky (COL ’12), who took Hernando’s class “Latin American Contemporary Short Stories,” said that, with Hernando, the respect was mutual.

“He treated us like responsible adults and very much cared about our input and appreciation for the material,” she said. “He was also extremely kind and understanding.”

The College Academic Council commended Hernando last year after students nominated him as one of the most influential professors in the department.

“He was a great person, a great guy,” Morales-Front said. “He was very quiet – the kind of person that when you meet him, he is always in a good mood, always had something good to say about everyone.”

Hernando’s wake was held on Dec. 3 in Bethesda, Md., and his funeral service was held Sunday in Clarksburg, Md.

“I was, yesterday, at the wake, and I saw many of his students. That’s what they were all telling me – that he was just a great teacher,” Morales-Front said.