LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – The husband of the late former Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco was laid to rest on Monday.

The longtime University of Louisiana at Lafayette and Louisiana’s First Gentleman, Raymond “Coach” Blanco passed away on Nov. 19. His funeral service was held on Nov. 28 in Lafayette at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.

News 10 spoke with former USL athlete Don Blair who said that Blanco was not only his coach but he was everyone’s coach.

Louisiana’s former first gentleman played a role in the lives of athletes, former students, state and local leaders.

News 10 spoke with a widowed wife of a former athlete who remembered Blanco.

“He had a great football team way back in the ’70s. It was a great ride. He and his wife came to my wedding. So, we go back pretty far. I’m here to pay my respects. I loved Coach Blanco,” Jo Ellen Coussan said.

Blanco’s coaching career included stops at Catholic High School in New Iberia and USL, which was later renamed UL Lafayette.

Don Blair said that he was an athlete trained under Blanco in the late 60s into the early 70s. Blair said that the greatest lesson Blanco taught him was to “Never think you can’t do it because you can.”

Governor John Bel Edwards along with other state and local leaders also made their way into the cathedral to pay their respects.

“He was a servant leader. When you lead by example, people will follow. That’s why Raymond Blanco was a leader. He impacted this community in a way that we will never forget, and his legacy will live on,” Louisiana Senator Gerald Boudreaux said.

Blanco was 87 years old.