He and his twin sister, Margaret were born on 15 Dec 1920 in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA and their parents were Mary (Tormey) and James William Colbert. [1]
He was mostly of Irish descent, and was raised in a devout Roman Catholic household. For his junior high school he attended St.Augustine's School in Larchmont, New York, USA and his high school was Iona Preparatory in New Rochelle, New York, USA. In 1942 he received his A.B. in philosophy from College of the Holy Cross and in 1945 he received his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons with a focus on immunology and infectious diseases. He then completed an internship at Bellevue Hospital before joining the U.S. Army Medical Corps in 1946. Captain Colbert spent a year in Europe with the Medical Corps before completing his residency at Yale University School of Medicine. [2]
Dr. James William Colbert, Jr. married on 26 Aug 1944 to his childhood sweetheart, Lorna Tuck (1920-2013) and they raised 11 children.
In 1969 he was working for the National Institutes of Health in Washington, DC when he and his family moved to South Carolina. [3]
On 01 Feb 1969 he became the first vice president for academic affairs at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and remained in that position until his death. [4] [5]
He and two of sons died on 11 Sep 1974 in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, USA [6] [7] in the plane crash [4] of Eastern Air Lines Flight #212. He was buried at Annapolis National Cemetery in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA. [8]
One of his sons was an American late night tv host.
This week's featured connections are American Founders: James is 21 degrees from John Hancock, 20 degrees from Francis Dana, 22 degrees from Bernardo de Gálvez, 16 degrees from William Foushee, 20 degrees from Alexander Hamilton, 22 degrees from John Francis Hamtramck, 18 degrees from John Marshall, 16 degrees from George Mason, 21 degrees from Gershom Mendes Seixas, 19 degrees from Robert Morris, 19 degrees from Sybil Ogden and 17 degrees from George Washington on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
C > Colbert > James William Colbert Jr.
Categories: United States Army Medical Corps | College of the Holy Cross | Annapolis National Cemetery, Annapolis, Maryland | Notables