James W. Hubbell passed away on March 29, 2020, with his friends, loved ones, and guitars. He was 65. Jim possessed a strong and loving spirit in addition to the guitars. He was known for his wit and kindness, which persisted even after being beset by Alzheimer’s disease too early. Despite his illness, Jim lived an accomplished life full of music, satire, and love.

Jim studied English and philosophy at the University of Kansas. He graduated in 1977 and went on to earn a law degree from Stanford University in 1981. Jim’s fiery intelligence and compassion for others led him to legal accomplishments in the name of the rights of others. Many of his legal battles were in defense of the First Amendment and the homeless. Most of Jim’s legal career was spent at the law firm of Kelly, Haglund, Garnsey and Kahn. His favorite First Amendment client was Denver’s alternative newspaper Westword. He served on the boards of directors of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the Renaissance Housing Development Corporation, and the Logan School for Creative Learning. In 2010, he was awarded the Outstanding Sustained Contribution Award by the Colorado Lawyers Committee. Despite all that Jim accomplished professionally, he was the last to make it the topic of conversation. At the end of the day, he was just an honest person who worked hard for other people.

To his family, Jim was a warm and insightful presence. He was always prepared to provide humor and a strong and welcoming heart to anybody in need. He was the kind of father who would incessantly remind his children to never pick up hitchhikers, but still pick up an unfortunate stranded woman hurrying through the rain one night while driving home with one of his sons. By his family and loved ones, Jim will be missed immensely.

It is worse than unfortunate that Alzheimer’s robbed Jim and the world of decades of his life, but Jim was not the type to wait to act when he saw injustice. Jim had a somewhat limited time in this world to make a difference, but he made a difference to all those in his orbit. He also took time to appreciate the small and silly joys of life. “Be excellent to each other,” he often said, quoting Bill and Ted and meaning it. He would always say he wanted to be cremated, tossed into the ocean, but then flown up into his loved ones’ faces like Donnie from The Big Lebowski. His sons will cross that bridge when they get there.

Jim is survived by his two sons, Troy and Noah Hubbell, his sisters Gail and Becky Hubbell, and his mother Jeannie Gregg. Jim would have loved knowing that contributions in his name were made to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

—Noah Hubbell