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Chris Bordelon
To say Chris Bordelon was an amazing teacher and band director would be a huge understatement, but it could be a good place to begin.
He was born and lived his early years in Alexandria, Louisiana but moved to Oklahoma in middle school. He earned a music scholarship to Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he was drum major for three years. After a short stint as band director and vocal teacher at Mountain View, Bordelon found his home at Watonga High School. It remained his vocation and passion from 1979 until he retired from teaching in 2007.
But to say he was a teacher and band director would again be an understatement. Bordelon was a force of nature, a force to be reckoned with and it shows in the impact he made on his students’ – and friends’, family and coworkers’ – lives.
The basics of band were the basics of becoming an adult. Students were made to understand they should arrive on time, which meant with time to spare, sit up straight, wear appropriate clothing and not to draw attention to themselves at the cost of the other band members.
But while the bandmaster was a stickler, the kids learned that once the basics were down pat, the fun really began. And what a ride that must have been.
In 28 years as band director, Bordelon bands won at least 17 sweepstakes honors at the State Fair parade competition and 28 straight superiors at district competition.
The students were convinced, according to Aaron Clewell, that they were capable and prepared. Essentially the work they did created strong, resilient and resourceful young adults. The attitudes spilled over into all facets of their lives. They also learned the easy way wasn’t always the best. The bands had different shows every week during football season, when most schools performed the same routine each week, which carried into state contests. That wasn’t Bordelon’s method, because he wasn’t driven by winning contests.
He seems to have been motivated by wanting what was best for the students, tempered by an overall sense of intense joy and love of life. That may have come from his strong Christian faith and love for God.
In that capacity Bordelon led choral groups at the Kingfisher Church of Christ and volunteered at Lariat Creek Christian Camp.
Carle King was a coworker of Bordelon’s at Watonga High School. He called Bordelon his “Great, good friend. He was incredible, off the charts brilliant and innovative. I am so glad he passed our way, because he impacted my life tremendously.”
When Bordelon decided to retire, he wrote his school board – now populated by his former student Clewell – that he was the one who had been blessed to work with wonderful students, and that it had been a privilege and a pleasure to work in the Watonga school system.
The board accepted the resignation with deepest reluctance and the superintendent at the time, Dr. Craig Cummins, said he would be nearly impossible to replace.
Bordelon was named band director of the year that year, 2007, by the Oklahoma Bandmaster’s Association and went on to work 10 more years for Midwest Music out of Weatherford, assisting band programs in south and western Oklahoma.
Bordelon passed away July 24 in Watonga. He is survived by his wife George Ann and a son, Alex. But everywhere across this part of Oklahoma where music is played and appreciated, enjoyed and savored, you are very likely to find a member of Bordelon’s Bands.