Binghamton University professor Richard Antoun is laid to rest, one week after a violent attack.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Binghamton.
Action News reporter Reed Buterbaugh spoke with family at Antoun's funeral about his life and their loss.
The Unitarian Universalist church in Binghamton overflowed with people looking to pay their last respects to Richard Antoun.
"Everybody loved Dick," said Antoun's sister, Linda Miller. "He never said a negative word about anybody ever, that I ever heard and to think that somebody would want to snuff his life out. It's just really hard to grasp."
Antoun was stabbed to death at Binghamton University last Friday.
Police say he was killed by graduate student Abdulsalam Al-Zahrani.
"I'm having a hard time forgiving," Miller said. "Dick was such a precious man and a good man, any death diminishes me."
"A wave of sadness came over us. We've been struggling with it ever since," said Antoun's brother-in-law David Miller.
"Antoun's widow came up to me before the funeral and we spoke off camera. She said she's overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity from the community. Adding she had no clue her late husband touched the lives of so many. Wanting everyone to know her family appreciates the support," said Buterbaugh.
During the service Antoun's wife, Rosalyn, spoke about how reliable he was.
The church was too small of a venue to hold everyone.
His family says Antoun would have wanted his service there.
The ceremony had few readings.
Instead, memories and music that reminded him of his mother.
"It's hard to imagine what he would say," David Miller said. "He was a modest and humble kind of man he might wonder about all this fuss that we're making about him."
A devoted sports fan, a Red Sox hat was hanging from the frame with Antoun's picture at the service.
His son said his father used sports to teach him life lessons about loyalty and being open-minded.