James was born in Somerville, MA on April 13, 1952 and was the son of the late Robert and Eileen (McMahon) Colbert. James was survived by his children James M. Colbert, Jr. and his wife Elizabeth, Stacy Langlois-Ford and her husband Douglas, Cheri Gonsalves and her husband John, Julie Mitchell and her husband Daniel. James leaves his beloved grandchildren Matthew, Lauren, Thomas, Johnathan, Joshua, Molly, Dylan, Sophia and Jackson.