Biography

“If there is a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” Toni Morrison

Fred Colby was born in Seattle, Washington where his father, Ralph Colby, worked as an engineer for Boeing after WWII. Following his father's death in 1955 Fred's family moved to San Diego to live with his maternal grandfather. Fred's mother, Danah, remarried three years later to Lynn Fayman who took on Fred and his three sisters (Kate, Ann, and Laura) until his passing eleven years later. Two brothers (Corey and Bruce) were born into the family during his mother's second marriage.

Death and the loss of loved ones was not something new to Fred when many years later his wife, Theresa Colby, passed in 2015.  However the loss of his father and step-father at such a young age did not prepare him for the pain and emotional turmoil he experienced when Theresa died.

Fred grew up in San Diego, attending La Jolla High School and Mesa Community College.  After marrying Theresa in 1970 he completed his college education at Claremont Men's College in Claremont, California, graduating Cum Laude with a degree in Political Science in 1972.  

Five years later, Fred and Theresa welcomed their first of two daughters (Jennifer and Charlene) into their family. Fred embarked upon non-profit and political careers in the areas of  fundraising and marketing. He worked in-house at arts, education, and social service agencies as a Development Director, Director of Administration, and Executive Director. In the 90's he launched Colby Consulting, which enjoyed a 15 year run serving dozens of San Diego area nonprofits.

His political career led him to work on state-wide and local initiatives, and candidate campaigns. He was elected to the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees in 1988, where he served for eight years in what he often calls his most enjoyable and rewarding role.

Fred and Theresa relocated to Colorado in 2008 after their daughters and their growing families moved to Fort Collins. Theresa passed in 2015 after a year-long bout of medical treatment for uterine cancer.  Having written thousands of pages of newsletters, grant applications, letters, and opinion pieces, Fred felt comfortable applying his writing skills to his first book, Widower to Widower. 

This book is his way of passing on his lessons-learned to other widowers suffering through what has to be one of the most difficult experiences of their lives.

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