SYRACUSE, N.Y. —
The 21st president of St. Bonaventure University was laid to rest on Saturday in Syracuse.
Dr. Dennis R. DePerro died of COVID-19 complications on Monday, after a several-week battle with the illness. He was 62.
Calling hours for family and friends, according to his obituary, took place on Friday, March 5 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Thomas J. Pirro Jr. Funeral Home at 3401 Vickery Road in North Syracuse.
A Mass for DePerro took place Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Most Holy Rosary Church at 111 Roberts Ave in Syracuse. For those who could not attend in-person, the Mass was live-streamed on his tribute page.
Over 39 years, DePerro remained focused on higher education administration. He started his career at his alma mater, Canisius College, and then worked at Marietta College (Ohio) and LeMoyne (Syracuse) before his final post at St. Bonaventure, according to his obituary. DePerro was a Buffalo-native.
As previously reported, DePerro had tested positive for the virus on Christmas Eve, admitted to the hospital on December 29, and had been on a ventilator since mid-January.
DePerro's family asks that donations be made to his memorial scholarship at the university.