The statue of a giant, headless angel stands in the middle of the second floor at Crouse College. Below it sits a tiny Bulgarian flag, several flowers and an origami crane folded from a music score sheet. It’s part of a small memorial Simeon Popov’s friends and classmates created.

They also taped a single white rose and a piece of art from The Daily Orange to his locker. The art depicts a haloed trombone resting on clouds, with the words “Simeon Popov, 1974-2002.”

Popov, a Syracuse University graduate student, died Sunday after he walked in on a robbery while delivering food to 324 Ostrom Ave. Various groups will host a memorial service for him at 1 p.m. today in the Crouse College’s Setnor Auditorium. His friends and professors remember him as a determined man with a good sense of humor and great luck with women.

He usually greeted women he knew with a warm, “You look beautiful,” and friends recall seeing women with him nearly all the time.

“He was the honey and the bees flocked to him,” said Professor Bill Harris, Popov’s trombone instructor and friend.

Popov also played soccer well enough to make the cut on a 25-person club team that 80 athletes tried out for. Sean View, who joined the team with Popov last August, said his “outright love for the ladies” was well know amongst the team. He reveled in telling his teammates tales of his weekend outings to Awful Als in Armory Square. While his stories varied, his outfit didn’t. He always wore the same late-night uniform of a leather jacket and black slacks.

His school workload this year prevented him from participating in many games. When he did show up, it was just like old times again — including the stories.

When he wasn’t playing sports, he watched them. He loved attending SU football games. Jay Proulux, who played trumpet in the wind ensemble with Popov, said when friends asked if the play on the field or the gyrations of the dance team caught Popov’s attention most, he blushed and laughed. He never offered an answer.

“He always had a goofy grin on his face,” said Dr. Joseph Downing, the associate dean of the Setnor School of Music. “He is really one of those people that when he walked into a room and saw you, you couldn’t help but smile.”

Because Popov was a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, he did not always understand what the jokes were about. But he still appreciated a good punchline.

During wind ensemble practices, Professor John Laverty cracked jokes about American popular culture that left Popov confused, until he got some help from his friends.

“Someone would have to explain it to him,” Proulux said. “He would always say something like ‘That’s hilarious.’ ”

Popov left Bulgaria to fulfill his dream of playing trombone in the United States. He first studied at Louisiana State University, but Harris said things didn’t click for him in the south. They did at Syracuse.

On the Hill, Popov met Harris. They got along well from the start. After only three lessons, when Popov left Syracuse to tour with the Bulgarian orchestra in the United States, Harris passed on an old trombone of his.

Popov came back to Syracuse and continued to work closely with Harris. From Harris, he learned the Emory Remington style of playing the trombone.

It was a style he loved.

It was a style that encapsulated his personality — vocal, eclectic, unique.

“After one lesson, Simeon said, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for,’ “ Harris said.

Once Popov enrolled at SU, he worked different jobs to offset school costs. He delivered pizzas for Mario & Salvo’s Pizzeria in Dewitt before taking the job at Dorian’s Gourmet Pizza and Deli on Westcott Street. He continued the delivery jobs despite driving a car with no heat and no back window.

He was also determined to finish graduate school and become the first Bulgarian trombonist with a master’s degree. Popov was scheduled to graduate in May with about a 3.7 grade point average, Harris said.

“I’m not sure how much competition he had in that field,” said Downing, who oversees all assistantships in the School of Music. Through that position, he built a close relationship with Popov.

Downing had not cried about Popov’s death until he saw the art on The D.O.’s editorial page.

“I’m a funny sort,” Downing said. “I cry at Disney movies but never in real life.”

The art is also posted on a bulletin board on the fourth floor of Crouse. It hangs beneath the music and lyrics for a “How Do We Name Our Sorrow,” a song Downing wrote for Popov after he died. The song will be played at today’s memorial service.

Downing’s lyrics include the line, “He was a kind and gentle soul with noble hopes and dreams / He was a friend to everyone with grace and charm and ease.”

Published on January 23, 2002 at 12:00 pm