Journalist Charles "Chuck" R. Colbert—who had written for several LGBTQ+ publications, including Windy City Times—passed away June 30. He was 67.
He was a freelance journalist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to his biography on The Rainbow Times website.
A longtime contributor to the National Catholic Reporter, he covered the clerical sex-abuse crisis in the Boston archdiocese.
Previously, a senior reporter and columnist for the now defunct In Newsweekly, Colbert was a contributor to Press Pass Q, Keen News Service, Boston Spirit Magazine, Windy City Times, and Bay Area Reporter. Also, he has written for major mainstream daily newspapers and magazines, including the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Dallas Morning News, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, and Harvard Business Review.
Colbert was a former National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association national board member and Boston/New England chapter president. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he also held advanced degrees in business, psychology and theology, from Georgetown University, Harvard University and Weston Jesuit School of Theology, now part of the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry.
Among those who lauded Colbert was National LGBTQ Task Force Communications Director Cathy Renna, who stated, "Chuck was a friend and colleague—one who was extraordinarily principled and helpful, especially when addressing issues related to the LGBTQ community and the Catholic Church. He was instrumental in helping us frame and address the abuse scandal when church leaders scapegoated gay priests, as a person of faith and an intellectual.
"As an advocate on the front lines fighting back his knowledge and coverage, working with him was a vital part of my work taking on the Catholic Church hierarchy while at GLAAD, along with other queer and allied groups. But he was also a pleasure to be friends with, who found joy in life and our community, and was one of the people I most looked forward to seeing at the NLGJA convention and other events. He will be greatly missed."
At his request, services were private. The John Henderson Company Funeral Home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was in charge.
