Theodore (Ted) Reynolds Colborn, Jr., age 83, of Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan, passed away on September 30, 2023, in Detroit, following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. It was his birthday.

Ted was born on September 30, 1940, to Theodore Reynolds Colborn and Constance Parry Colborn in Cleveland, Ohio, joining his older sister Deborah and later joined by his younger sister Ann and brother Paul. Ted and his siblings enjoyed tennis, board games and snowball fights. He served as senior class president at Western Reserve Academy, where he also ran track and was the punt kicker on the football team. Ted went on to attend Brown University and Wayne State University as well as serving in the US Army Language School where he excelled at Russian.

An avid tennis player and runner who proudly completed the Detroit Free Press Marathon in the early 1980s, Ted met Margaret Fabinski while starting his career at General Electric. They married in 1968 and their two children, Emily Estelle Colborn and Constance Monique Colborn, were born in 1975 and 1979, respectively. Ted was a devoted father to both girls, nurturing them in both athletic and artistic pursuits. He loved to travel and took them each summer to visit Chautauqua Lake in upstate New York, continuing a family tradition at his parents' home there.

Following their divorce, Ted married Catherine (Kate) Renouf in 1990 and their two children, Hannah Elizabeth Colborn and Will Paget Colborn, were born in 1992 and 1997, respectively. His family loved to play soccer and attend Detroit Tigers baseball games together, alongside frequent trips to the local bookstore. They are active members of St. Michael's Episcopal Church. In recent years, Ted and Kate enjoyed long walks with their dogs and watching local plays and musicals, particularly at the Hilberry Theatre in Detroit.

While Ted's career included positions at the Detroit Port Authority and the Greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, in his later years, he was a beloved fixture in his community, working at Barnes & Noble Bookstore on Mack Avenue, as a crossing guard for the Grosse Pointe Woods Department of Public Safety for nearby schools Mason Elementary, Parcells Middle School, and Grosse Pointe North High School, and as a gate guard at the Grosse Pointe Woods Lakefront Park. He was also a member of the Grosse Pointe Woods Tree Commission. He took on leadership positions and was a member of several fellowship groups at St. Michael's Church, including serving as the Junior Warden of the St. Michael's Vestry.

Ted's siblings teasingly called him by the dreaded nickname "Renny" (short for his middle name "Reynolds"). With his witty intelligence and appreciation for literature and history, Ted helped family and friends with sage, practical and calming advice. He was always a kind presence as he walked about his neighborhood and made new friends wherever he went.

Ted was predeceased by his parents and his nephew and godson Robert Herrick. He is survived by his wife Kate Colborn and his ex-wife Margaret Colborn, his four children, Emily Roxworthy (married to Dennis Kim), Connie Longman, Hannah Colborn, and Will Colborn, as well as six grandchildren (ages 12-19): Julien Longman, Chloe Roxworthy, Ashton Longman, Hope Roxworthy, Mack Roxworthy, and Lucy Roxworthy. Ted is also survived by his siblings Deborah Colborn, Ann Herrick and Paul Colborn (married to Amy Young) and many loving nieces and nephews.

A memorial service and Requiem Eucharist will be held at St. Michael's Church, 20475 Sunningdale Park, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI 48236 at 11 am on October 28th, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Rector's Discretionary Fund at St. Michael's (edomi.com/give) Covenant House Michigan (covenanthousemi.org) or Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org.)

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