Carlos Olivencia, 49, EOP counselor

A Mass of Christian Burial was held Sept. 11 in Sts. Columba and Brigid Church for Carlos Olivencia, 49, a counselor for the Educational Opportunity Program for more than 20 years. Olivencia died Sept. 8 in Buffalo General Hospital after a short battle with cancer.

Olivencia recruited hundreds of Hispanic students to UB, providing advice on academic, personal and financial matters and, on many occasions, inviting students who had nowhere to go to stay at his home.

While he was in the hospital, he had as many as 100 visitors a day, many of them former and present UB students.

A graduate of UB, he served from 1990-96 as president of the Agustin "Pucho" Olivencia Community Center on Swan Street, named for his late father, who was known as the patriarch of Buffalo's Puerto Rican community.

Olivencia kept the center open almost single-handedly during its lean years, Andres Garcia, president of the Columbus Community Health Center, told The Buffalo News. "He was one of those people who did a lot for the community and nobody knew about it," Garcia said.