Bourbeau remembered for dedication to Smith Voke

NORTHAMPTON - Those who served with David Bourbeau on Smith Vocational and Agricultural School's board of trustees say they will always remember him for his devotion to the students and to creating an agricultural program that would prepare them for the future.

Bourbeau, an artisan bookbinder and designer who died at the age of 67 last week, was acting chairman of the board and had devoted the last 12 years of his life to the school.

"David's third love was Smith School," board member John E. Cotton said. "His first and second were his wife and his daughters, but Smith School was certainly the third, and he gave his all to it."

Cotton, who served with Bourbeau on the board for eight years and will be taking over as chairman, said Bourbeau was always focused on making use of all of the school's available space.

"He wanted to use the land we have as effectively as possible, that was David's really big thing," Cotton said. "He wanted to make Smith School the best that it can be and I think we're getting there."

"He was the type of person that would go through information to make sure all the t's were crossed and i's were dotted, and we're all going to miss him," he added.

Despite Bourbeau's weakened condition - he had battled cancer for a number of years - Cotton said he remained active with the board to the end because of his strong-willed nature and his commitment to the school.

"If I could be blunt, he lived much longer than many people thought he would - he kept plugging on and endured," Cotton said.

Northampton Superintendent Isabelina Rodriguez said she will always remember Bourbeau for fighting for students at the school as he would for his own children.

"I had the privilege of getting to know David as a parent first, and he was the kind of parent that would advocate strongly for his children," Rodriguez said. "When I became superintendent, I met him again as the chair of the board, and I saw him in that role advocating the same way for every single student at the school."

Frank Llamas, who served as the school's superintendent for six years and on the board with Bourbeau before his retirement last year, said he will remember Bourbeau's commitment to bringing the school's agricultural program back to the basics.

"We made a great many changes and improvements at the school, he fought very hard to improve and modernize the school's agricultural program," Llamas said. "He believed that things were reverting back to the way they used to be and that we needed to teach the kids about sustainability and alternative energies because all of that will be needed to run the farm of the future."

Cotton said he is disappointed that Bourbeau won't be around to witness the construction of the school's new science and agricultural building because it is a development he advocated strongly for and would have loved to see.

"We have some very important projects coming up, and they are all things that meant a lot to David," Cotton said. "They were the kind of things he dreamed of."

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com.