Halley Nevada Borenstein

Halley Nevada Borenstein succumbed to his struggle with heroin addiction on January 28, 2017, after a period of hard-sought and inspiring sobriety and recovery. He was 29 years old. Halley was a wise, insightful, forgiving, openhearted and brilliant person. Halley was raised in New Orleans.

He attended elementary school at Audubon Montessori and high school at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts and the New Orleans Center for Math & Science. He was accepted at age 18 to the Berklee College of Music, and commenced college at Antioch in 2005. Halley, aka DJ Spamm, aka Spamm Kidd, forever a punk rocker at heart, refused to be boxed in by norms or genres. He never compromised his own sense of integrity and creativity. He was generous with his knowledge as a composer and producer, always willing to share what he knew with others and work with them. Halley was also a badass rollerblader. He opened New Orleans Skate Park in 2010 and created an extraordinary community for many skaters.

In sobriety, Halley was a calm and inspiring friend to many in recovery. He was a dedicated member of Refuge Recovery and was passionate about helping others find peace in sobriety. Halley’s father, Hermes Borenstein, passed away of leukemia at age 22. Hermes was an adoring father of his 18-month-old son. Halley inherited his father’s extraordinary talent and love of music. The family is tremendously grateful for the amazing love and care Halley received from Dr. Roy Salgado, LifeSkills of South Florida, St. Christopher’s Addiction Wellness Center, Refuge Recovery, Halley’s many fellows in recovery, the Club Soda Krewe, and so many others.

Halley will be forever loved by so many people. He is survived by his mother Charly Borenstein-Regueira, father Reinaldo Regueira, grandfather Jack Nicholas, grandmother Karen Brumm, aunt Sacha Borenstein Clay and her husband Roy Clay, aunt Rachael Borenstein, uncle Jesse Kline, cousins Gaelyn Porter, Megan Clay Marino and husband Matt Marino, Tatiana Clay Jurzak and husband Jason Jurzak, Sarah Porter, Alexander Clay, Yves Vibar-Kline, and Xian Vibar-Kline. Halley is preceded in death by his father Hermes Borenstein, grandparents Larry Borenstein, Patricia Borenstein Nicholas, Gregory Frank, and Gloria Regueira, and cousin Zachary Clay. A celebration of Halley’s life will be held Saturday, February 18, 2017 at the Marigny Opera House, 725 St. Ferdinand Street. At 11:00 am friends and family will gather. A memorial service will follow at noon. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Send Me a Friend at candaid.org/send-me-a-friend/ or Refuge Recovery at refugerecovery.org. Condolences, memories, photos and more may be shared at halleyborenstein.com.

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Webmaster’s note: The best place to send photos of Halley now is to Halley’s uncle, Jesse Kline: j@klineworks.com.