Finals rolled around this summer for Accounting 304, but upon arrival, students were told to go home.

Accountancy instructor and business colleague Anita Feller passed away of pancreatic cancer July 31.

The last class that Feller taught, Accounting Control Systems, otherwise went as planned, and her students did not know she was battling cancer.

Feller’s students described her as an enthusiastic teacher who never showed any signs of weakness or illness.

“To be honest, she didn’t seem like your daily professor, more like a neighbor,” said Albert Kim, junior in Business. “She was enthusiastic about her lectures. No one would have guessed that she was terminally ill.”

Lucas Schumann, senior in Business, said the cancer had not affected Feller’s teaching.

“Even through her entire sickness, she came to class ready to teach,” he said. “Until very late in the summer, I doubt … a single student in her classes … knew that she was extremely ill.”

An email was sent out the morning of Aug. 1 telling Feller’s students another professor would be present to talk about something that had happened over the weekend. Schumann said he came expecting more than just his test.

“I am sure that the majority of students expected the worst when we got the email on the morning of the final,” Schumann said. “It was tough to know that the news that we were going to hear when we made it to class in the afternoon was going to be about a worst case scenario coming true.”

Clifton Brown, interim head of accountancy, said Feller genuinely cared about her work.

“She was a very dedicated person, very hard working and was interested in her students,” Brown said.

Brown was the one to announce the news to the students and assign the online final to accommodate students’ needs, including two who were out of the state for personal reasons.

A memorial service will be held this Friday at 1 p.m. at the Levis Faculty Center in Urbana, Ill. Students and faculty are welcome to join to remember Anita Feller.