Robert Aimone Scholarship

The Robert L. Aimone Scholarship fund has been established at The High School of Saint Thomas More in honor of Mr.  Aimone’s active commitment to Catholic education. His strong Catholic faith was the most important aspect of his life, and he was dedicated to strengthening the local attitude towards Catholic education. In 2004, Mr. Aimone was honored with The Champaign Vicariate of the Catholic Diocese and The High School of Saint Thomas More Paideia Award for his commitment to the educational community and leadership in spreading the Good News of Catholic education. He was a member of the original Education Commission at The High School of Saint Thomas More serving from 1998 through 2004. The STM community is grateful for Mr. Aimone’s strong and committed belief in the legacy of a Catholic high school in Champaign.

Click here to donate to the Robert L. Aimone Scholarship.

Biography

Robert L. Aimone was born March 27, 1933, in Clinton, Indiana to John and Antoinette (Fenoglio) Aimone. He was extremely proud of his Italian heritage and had many stories about the people from the “old country”. His father was in the dairy business while his mother was a typical Italian housewife cooking during the week and attending Mass on Sunday. Bob attended school Clinton, Indiana and graduated from high school in 1951. He attended Indiana State University where he received a B.S. in Education in 1955. He then attended the University of Illinois where he obtained his Masters in 1956.

Bob began teaching at Unity High school in the fall of 1956. His first teaching position was in Industrial Arts where students learned when Mr. Aimone said “no” he meant “no”, and there was no room for negotiation. The U.S. Army came calling and Bob served his country for two years. After the service, he spent one semester teaching at a Catholic high school in Indianapolis, but the city was not to Bob’s liking. He enjoyed his short tenure at Unity prior to the service and was eager to return. Bob returned to Unity High School where he taught Industrial Arts, Algebra, Physics, and General Mathematics. Students were expected to have their homework completed each day or they would hear his famous line “tonight or tomorrow night?” for detention. Many students encountered Mr. Aimone in the school hallways or athletic events, and they were expected to represent Unity High School to the highest standard. He took his turn as class and prom sponsor while sponsoring the student council for many years and organizing the homecoming dance. One of his other duties was being in charge of the “after school” detention where some students got to know him quite well. He was a regular at the football and basketball games where he was the statistician for Coach Hicks. Accuracy was very important to Mr. Aimone, and he had to have the same number of baskets as the official scorer before he could leave the gym. He retired from Unit #7 in June, 2000, after serving the district for 42 years.

Mr. Aimone’s Catholic faith was vital to him and this love was shared by teaching CCD at St. Patrick’s in Tolono for over 40 years. He was a 4th Degree Knights of Columbus member. He remained active in the choir at his home parish of Sacred Heart in Clinton, Indiana. Many are aware of Mr. Aimone’s singing ability, and he was most gracious in sharing his gift by singing at numerous weddings and funerals. He was godfather to 27 or 28 children, many of whom became his students.

After retirement, Mr. Aimone quickly returned to teaching at St. Thomas Grade School in Philo where Pre-Algebra became his passion for two hours each day. In addition, He was a member of the original Education Commission at The High School of Saint Thomas More serving from 1998 through 2005. In 2004, he was awarded The Champaign Vicariate of the Catholic Diocese and The High School of Saint Thomas More Paideia Award for his commitment to the educational community and leadership in spreading the Good News of Catholic education.

Mr. Aimone died at the age of 78 on Sunday, June 26th at C-U Regional Rehab in Savoy. His strong Catholic faith was an inspiration for so many, and those of us who knew him have been blessed.