A Very Fine Man...

A couple of years ago I received a phone call from my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Maureen Bourne. She proceeded to tell me that her husband Lloyd had read my column in the Journal that week and he said, “You’ve got to read Dale’s column.” She told me that she read it and then Lloyd insisted that she read it to their grandchildren.

The column as I remember it now was about the importance of hard work and team work and that success doesn’t come easy but it is worth all of the sweat equity that is invested, or at least words to that affect but a lot more of them.

To be honest, I was taken aback by the phone call because former teachers don’t make a habit of calling me up and telling me how proud they are of me! Writing such a meaningful column that she and Lloyd could share with family was truly worth the trials and tribulations that I can often have while writing the Worst Seat.

It probably meant so much to me because of the great respect I have for Maureen and Lloyd. Whenever I had a chance to see them at a ballgame or the state tournament they always had a kind comment about this column. And I always liked to visit with them.

Lloyd and I would have those great visits about our favorite teams. We kidded often but our conversations were filled with high praise for several members of each team that was playing at the time. I never heard him say anything negative about anyone on the team he was supporting or the opposition. Well he might have blistered the Huskies now and then but who really cares one way or another about that.

Lloyd and Maureen were/are fans of the Sprague Vikings, Sprague-Harrington Falcons and then the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos. After a football game in Ritzville in October I was visiting with Lloyd when one of the Bronco players came up to him, shook his hand and said, “Thanks for coming tonight I really appreciate it.”

The Bourne’s have a way of touching peoples’ lives by showing their support and attending more games than the usual fan. If they didn’t have kids or grandkids playing the neighbor’s kids would do just fine no matter how far away those neighbors live.

Lloyd passed away on Nov. 30 after the Broncos defeated Adna. He was watching the game on a laptop computer. He was always a fan even until the very end.

Some people have the ability to touch lives and Lloyd Bourne could certainly do that. He understood the importance of lending support to the local team but he also knew the Bi-County as good as or better than most people. He had to have put a lot of miles on the vehicles he drove to all of those games.

For some reason whenever I saw Lloyd and Maureen at a game I always did my very best to track them down and say hi to see how they were doing and maybe get their perspective on the game.

I feel fortunate to have known Lloyd Bourne and to have those great visits that I will always appreciate. I was also very lucky to have had Mrs. Bourne as my fifth grade teacher. The relationship that I had with the Bourne’s once I grew up was very meaningful.

We lost a good man on Nov. 30, 2013. Lloyd Bourne was a great guy and a good friend to a lot of people young and old. Lloyd will be missed by a lot of people in our neck of the woods and I’m glad to have known him as a friend.