BROUSSARD, La. (KLFY) – Broussard Fire Chief Bryan Champagne remembers Alex Bourque, the Broussard firefighter who tragically lost his long battle with cancer.

26-year-old Alex Bourque passed away Wednesday, surrounded by brothers and sisters, his wife and two young boys. “Alex was great. He was very happy-go-lucky, always in a good mood, just made anybody who walked in the room smile,” Chief Champagne said.

When Alex was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg in April of 2021, Chief Champagne was one of the many people who organized countless fundraisers for him. News Ten spoke with Alex last June, as he went through chemotherapy about the community rallying together for him. “I can’t thank all the people enough. It puts me at a loss for words because I want to thank them, but thank you is not enough. I don’t feel like thank you is enough,” Alex told News Ten.

Chief Champagne said Alex bravely fought the cancer, even after he made the decision to have his leg amputated. “Alex never complained. He never complained from day one about the cancer or why it was happening to him,” he recalled. The chief says Alex was doing well after the amputation. “We really thought he was on the road to recovery,” he said.

In March of this year, however, doctors discovered cancer in his lungs and a mass in his hip. Alex began chemotherapy and radiation once again, but the cancer continued to spread. He passed away in hospice care on Wednesday, surrounded by his family.

Chief Champagne says while Alex is gone, his memory will never be forgotten. “He made a difference in anyone’s lives he touched. Whether it was somebody out in the field he didn’t know or somebody he worked with, he became a close friend. He was just a really good person, and I think God worked through him to help other people be better,” he added.

Alex Bourque’s funeral will be held Monday, May 16, at 1 p.m. at St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville. Visitation will take place at Martin and Castille Funeral Home.

Alex will be honored with a full firefighter’s funeral. He will be escorted on top of a firetruck to St. Michael’s Cemetery in St. Martinville. His brothers and sisters as well as his fellow firefighters will be by his side.