90 Plus: John Billodeau believes it’s all about determination

YOUNGSVILLE, La. (KLFY) – John Billodeau of Youngsville follows his gut instincts and heart.

“I wake up in the morning, put a smile on my face and go about my business,” Billodeau said.

John was born in Woodside, located between Simsport and Krotz Springs. He’s one of eight children and considers himself well-balanced. He was raised on a farm. They didn’t have much money but they had plenty to eat. “We had cows and pigs. We would butcher our pigs and all this stuff you know.”

Getting into trouble wasn’t part of the family plan. “We were too busy working in the fields we didn’t have any time to get into trouble you know.” John explains that he had worked at a few places. At one point, he managed a grocery store for his cousin, but that was before he joined the military. “I came home and worked at a couple of places. I worked at a fire equipment company. I moved to Lafayette in 1959 from New Orleans.”

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He worked a bit before starting his own company. “I started in 1959 and sold it in 1966. I went into the oil field and then I got to travel all over the world just about.”

John owned a fire equipment company, an H2S company, a business in Broussard and a shrimping boat. “I went to Africa. I had some oil leases in Africa that, for two years, didn’t make any money out of it.”

John is the father of three. He gets a kick out of keeping his kids on their toes. “Pam, my daughter, she’ll call. If I don’t answer my phone because it’s in the car or something, she’ll call my other daughters saying ‘have you talked to Dad? Where is he?”

By the way, don’t just sit and worry about things just get up and do it. “Determination. You go to be determined to do something you can’t expect someone else to do it for you.”

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