Jim Kolbe Obituary, Funeral

James Thomas Kolbe was an American businessman and politician who served in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.

Kolbe was born in Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. He served in the US Navy, including a year in Vietnam as part of the riverine “Swift Boat” force.

He worked as a special assistant to Republican Governor of Illinois Richard B. Ogilvie. He later relocated to Tucson, Arizona, where he worked as a business executive.

From 1985 to 2003, he represented Arizona’s 5th congressional district, and from 2003 to 2007, he represented Arizona’s 8th congressional district.

He came out as gay in 1996 after voting in support of the Defense of Marriage Act, and his subsequent re-elections made him the second openly gay Republican elected to Congress.

Kolbe served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations under Democratic President Barack Obama after leaving Congress.

Kolbe left the Republican Party and became an independent following Donald Trump’s election in 2018. In the 2020 presidential election, he endorsed Joe Biden.

Jim Kolb died from a stroke on December 3, 2022, at the age of 80. Funeral arrangements for Jim Kolbe has not been made public.