Stephen J. Colbert, 65, of Manchester, Massachusetts, died on January 8, 2023. He leaves behind his wife Bethany (Brigham) Colbert, daughter Stephanie (Colbert) Neupert and her husband Erich and their daughter Valerie, and sons Michael N. Colbert and James E. Colbert, all of Manchester.
Born in Medford and raised in Concord, Massachusetts, he was the son of Edward M. Colbert and the late Dorothy (Hoar) Colbert. He was a graduate of Concord-Carlisle High School, class of 1975, and Tufts University, class of 1979, with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business Management. He was a charter member of the high school swim team and was an all-American swimmer for Tufts.
Stephen’s talents were in seeking knowledge and developing personal relationships, both skills he treasured and maintained throughout his life. He started his professional career with General Electric as a market development specialist, followed by Chomerics, a division of Parker Hannifin Corp., for which he served as a business unit manager for 17 years. He spent a short time out of the corporate world in a teaching position about which he said, “It was the hardest job I ever loved.” In 2002, he returned to the corporate world as a marketing consultant for Maritz in their General Motors Field Team. There, Stephen applied his technical knowledge and furthered his gift of building personal relationships and bringing people together. He retired from Martiz in December 2021 and then enjoyed several months doing home energy audits for HomeWorks Energy, Inc.
Stephen’s greatest joy and reward was his family; he was always present for his wife, children, granddaughter, and extended family, and he was an active participant in countless conversations, games, and mischievous play. His love of the ocean and swimming was a life-long constant. During college, he lifeguarded along the National Seashore, and, in recent years, he participated in the Boston Harbor Swim Across America to raise money for cancer research – he was a “cancer thriver” himself. He participated in the annual New Year’s Day ocean plunge at Singing Beach, gathering family and friends to celebrate good health and life. This year’s plunge completed his 37th consecutive month of ocean swims and included initiating his two-year-old granddaughter by dunking her feet. He had many hobbies and interests including painting and recently Wordle and pottery.
Stephen is predeceased by brothers Edward J. Colbert of Topsfield and Michael E. Colbert of Durban, France. He leaves behind his father, Edward M. Colbert and his partner Beverly Simpson of Marblehead, his brothers, John Colbert and his wife Luann of Norwood, and Joseph Colbert and his wife Jean of Carlisle, his nieces and nephews, Andrew, Michaela, Matthew, Tate, Kelsey, Keith, Kimberly, Jennifer, and many extended family members and friends.
His Funeral service will be held at the Campbell Funeral Home 525 Cabot Street Beverly on Wednesday January 18, 2023 at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Immediately following the service, a Celebration of Stephen’s Life will be held at the American Legion in Manchester all are invited to attend. Contributions may be made in his name to Swim Across America. Here’s a link to his team's local fundraising page: Team Goldman and Friends.
