By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – It takes most people a lifetime to learn the simple lessons that Stanley “Stan” Borne Jr. apparently learned in his 22 years of living.

Hundreds of friends and family from the River Region turned out earlier this week at the funeral services for Borne, one of five young men from St. John Parish who died in a tragic boating accident last Saturday on the Blind River.

Over and over, those friends and relatives spoke of the genuine friendship Borne showed to all, and his giving attitude to everyone he met.

“He was good to everybody, that’s what I remember about him,” said Dustin Keller, one of his best friends who roomed with him at Southeastern for over a year. “He was just a good guy to everyone. That’s the way all the guys were—a bunch of good guys.”

Borne was on a 20-foot runabout boat that collided on Blind River with a 30-foot cabin cruiser. Five of the six young men on the runabout were killed, while a sixth remains in the hospital. No one on the cabin cruiser was seriously hurt.

For Borne, just about to turn 23 years old within a few weeks, the turnout of hundreds for the services didn’t just include high school or college friends. It included public officials, law enforcement officers and many others who all remembered him the same way.

“Just a sweet boy,” his aunt, who asked not to be identified by name, said. “He had a lot of spirit, and such potential. I remember him coming over to our house and having a bunch of little cousins jumping on him, but he never minded. And you don’t see a teenage boy act like that with a bunch of little girls bothering him. But he never minded. He was loved by a lot of people.”

Borne graduated from St. Charles Catholic High School in 2003, and went to Southeastern for just over a year before leaving to attend classes at Louisiana Technical College in Reserve. He was reportedly working at a medical waste company, but had plans to return to college at Delgado Community College where he was going to study business finance.

Over and over, most of his young friends remembered Borne as a “fun guy” who was always a good person to hang out with.

“He was such a fun dude, always outgoing and had been one of my best friends since high school,” Brandon “Woophie” Mondebello said. “I’m just at such a loss of words with him gone. This is so hard for us all.”

“Stan was so genuine, and would always do something for others,” Jessica Potter said. “He always made you laugh and he definitely was a guy who knew how to have a good time. That’s why he was always so much fun to be with.”

A family friend who lived down the street from Stan Jr. and his father, Stanley Borne Sr., said that the loss of all the boys is difficult since they were sincerely good kids.

“Stan was a good kid, a really good kid. But that’s what makes this so hard,” Vincent Simon said. “All of those boys were good kids. Their parents taught them well.”

Simon said that Borne worked with his wife at Dupont, and was a reliable young worker, unlike what is said about many young people today.

“My wife always told me what a good worker he was. He was always on time, kept quiet, and did his job,” Simon remarked. “And that’s what is also so hard for everyone….he was only a kid….so young.”

Mondebello had been friends with Borne since high school, playing baseball with most of the young men in the accident. He was among those on Saturday who headed out to look for the missing boat when they were informed late into the evening that it had not returned.

“We were all supposed to go out Saturday night, and we knew a bunch of the guys had taken the boat out,” Mondebello explained. “So when they were late, some of us went to the boat launch, then to Manchac where Pat (McTopy) has a camp. But they weren’t there.”

Mondebello said it was 10:30 that night when they still hadn’t been found, so he and others got another boat and went out on the water to look for them. They looked for over three hours before suddenly getting a phone call that the boat had been found.

The response by Mondebello for his friend, as was true for many others who rushed out to help in the search on Saturday, told the story of why so many had shown up for the services all week long for the five young men.

 “Stan was a crazy guy, a funny guy, a happy-go-lucky guy,” neighborhood friend Walter Barado said. “He was just fun to be with. And he always had good things to say about people all the time. That’s why everyone liked him so much.”

“The last time I saw him was about a month ago when we got together for my birthday,” Keller added. “We had been best friends in high school, and even after going to college and rooming together for over a year, I had run into him a lot more lately and we started to hang out again.

“But that’s what is so tough about this,” he said. “Stan was always so good to everyone, and all of them were good guys.”

Borne was single and had never been married, living with his father.