Villejoin will be honored Tuesday with firefighter’s funeral

INDIAN BAYOU —  Firefighters from around Vermilion Parish will say goodbye today to one of their own.
Indian Bayou Volunteer Fire Chief Kevin D. Villejoin, 48, died Sunday at his home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Leroy.
Fellow firemen from around the parish will honor him during those services.
“We are going to have a firefighter’s funeral for him,” said  Matthew Trahan, President of the Vermilion Parish Fire Protection Association. “That’s what he wanted and that is what everyone is expecting to happen.”
A procession will leave Vincent Funeral Home in Kaplan on the way to the church in Leroy. Indian Bayou Unit 521 will offer Villejoin his final ride.
“The casket will be carried on the truck and we will have bagpipes playing,” Trahan said. “Two ladder trucks will cross the road at some point between Kaplan and Leroy. Flags will be draped over the highway and the procession will pass under it.”
Villejoin’s casket will then pass by the Indian Bayou Volunteer Fire Department.
“The procession will stop and allow the casket to pass by the department with family,” Trahan explained.
A full firefighter’s funeral will take place at the Leroy Cemetery. Trahan said it is a sign of the respect Villejoin earned in more than 27 years as a firefighter.
“In our line of work we call it a brotherhood,” Trahan said. “He was very respected.”
Villejoin proved instrumental in the growth of Indian Bayou’s department during his seven years as chief. He helped facilitate improvements to the fire station and gain upgraded gear for the firefighters, among other improvements. Villejoin also helped bring in two trucks to the department. The two trucks, paid exclusively with funds from the department, included Unit 502, a four-wheel drive truck that is used to fight brush fires, as well as a rescue truck, Unit 521.
“He was a very good member of the organization for Indian Bayou,” Trahan said. “He was also important in the Vermilion Fire Protection Association. He was helping a lot of the chiefs work together to come to a common goal and make things better for the parish.
“He will be greatly missed.”
Among the many left to carry Villejoin’s memory will be the members of the Indian Bayou department. Those members will serve today as pallbearers. Among them are Curtis Campbell, Blake Miller, Donald Gaspard, Gabe Duhon, Marshall Thomas and Deral Hebert. Serving as Honorary Pallbearers will be Jackie Gaspard, Vernon Doucet, Sylvester McAulliffe, Heath Broussard, Ryan Broussard, Spencer Bertrand, Kasey Meaux, Vernis Leger, Tim Mouton, Christopher Miller and Jacob Langlinais.
Family said Villejoin will simply be remembered as a great firefighter and chief, one whose ultimate goal was to save not only property, but lives.
“Second only to his wife (Vanessa Villejoin), Kevin’s true love was the fire service where he remained dedicated for over 27 years,” his family wrote. “Kevin was a leader through his strength and perseverance.”