Peter Gray Colby, a longtime resident of Gloucester, died on Friday, October 16, 2026 after a courageous battle with illness. He was 80.
He was born in Lynn on March 12, 1946 to the late Edward and Adele (Gray) Colby, graduated from Beverly High School in 1964 and earned a bachelor’s degree in geography at Salem State. He worked for many decades in the aerospace division of General Electric in Lynn. In Gloucester his neighbors knew him as the jack-of-all-trades on the street, the man to call for plumbing, wiring or a project that needed another pair of hands, and he kept a large vegetable garden. He followed current events and politics closely, lived simply and was a constant support to his sister, Judith.
He leaves his sister, Judith Colby of Beverly; his brother, Bruce Colby, and his wife Florence of Simpsonville, S.C.; his nephew, Neal Colby, and his wife Victoria of Macedonia, Ohio; his niece, Jennifer Robinson, and her husband Peter of North Andover; his grandniece, Rebekah Robinson, and her husband Kenneth; his grandnephew, Adam Robinson; and his great-grandnieces, Vivienne and Margot Robinson.
Visiting hours are Wednesday, October 28 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot Street, Beverly. Funeral services are private at his request.
Compiled from information published by Campbell Funeral Home. Photograph courtesy of the family via Campbell Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
