Two weeks ago, Michael Amore left his accounting class at Quinnipiac to go on a thoroughly planned trip to Europe with his family. Little did he know that he would never come back to Hamden to teach, volunteer his time for department projects or communicate his love for accounting.
“He was truly a remarkable individual,” said Anne Rich, chair of the Accounting Department at Quinnipiac. “He touched a lot of peoples’ lives.”
Amore was killed by smoke inhalation on the overnight train between Paris, France, and Munich, Germany, after what officials believe to be an electrical fire caught onto the wood and fitted carpeting in the first class carriage at the front of the train. Also killed were Amore’s wife, Jeanne, a substitute teacher in the North Branford school district; their daughter Emily, 12; their son, Michael, 8; and the children’s grandmother, Susanne Amore, 72.
The Amores were celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary. The family was vacationing in Germany and took a side trip to Paris, because Michael Amore wanted to show his children where he proposed to his wife.
“It was a family vacation to celebrate his marriage,” said Rich and explained that Amore was a very romantic man.
Amore was teaching two accounting courses of his own at Quinnipiac and had recently taken on two extra course on behalf of a colleague who was ill. He had been an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac since 1997.
“I can give you a long list of things he was involved with,” Rich said. “He volunteered for everything, whatever we needed him for.”
Rich said Amore was extraordinary, remarkable and enthusiastic. He was an original member of the accounting advisory group and participated annually in practitionals with students. He also worked on the continuing education program with other faculty members and he was involved with the entrepreneur program.
“He never was too busy,” said Rich. “And yet he always had time for his family. That was his main interest.”
According to the New Haven Register, Amore used to perform magic tricks at family gatherings, and he enjoyed playing the flute and the clarinet. Neighbors told the New York Times that Amore was a good friend who was always there, and that he sometimes came over to visit them in his pajamas on Christmas mornings.
Amore also liked rebuilding old Porsches, participating in the Rotary Club and teaching religious classes at St. Augustine Church.
“He was the most generous individual you could ever find,” said Rich. “He was fair, passionate and upbeat.”
During his five years at Quinnipiac, Amore developed his own software program that he used for accounting.
“He was the type of guy who never quits – he was always trying to do more,” senior Mike Amore, who helped develop the software program, said to the New York Times.
Rich said Amore loved his profession, and that he clearly communicated it to his students. He also loved learning, and in 2001 he got his MBA from Quinnipiac.
“He didn’t need it,” said Rich. “He just wanted to absorb as much knowledge as he could.”
Rich will take over Amore’s classes until further arrangements can be made.
“We’ll miss him,” said Rich. “Nobody can replace Michael. He was an energetic force.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, no funeral arrangements had been made, since relatives were still waiting for the bodies to be released and brought home, according to officials at St. Augustine Church in North Branford. Those who wish to attend the funeral should contact the church at 484-0403.