9/11, 25th Anniversary Remembrance: #18 – Michel P. Colbert
By Steve Wilson // August 25, 2026
Colbert worked in the North Tower at the World Trade Center in New York City
Michel P. Colbert (pictured) tragically was killed on 9/11 while working in the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. (Image: legacy.com)
In remembrance of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the Friday Night Locker Room’s Steve Wilson randomly selected 25 people that were killed on that tragic day. Space Coast Daily will release one story per day leading up to September 11, 2026. Today’s story is about Michel P. Colbert. Story courtesy of legacy.com.
Michel P. Colbert had the ideal résumé, the kind that might appear in a how-to book about résumés. A master’s degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. A succession of lucrative jobs in Paris, London and Milan. Fluency in French and Spanish. A balanced range of interests, from photography to scuba diving.
“I have developed proprietary mathematical models for yield curve analysis, embedded basis options,” he wrote, in the resume that helped him secure a job as a high-level bond trader with Cantor Fitzgerald.
But did Mr. Colbert really talk like that? No. And does his résumé completely reflect who he was? Of course not.
Michel Colbert was, more than anything else, the only child of Raymond and Marie Colbert. The parents were so close to their son that all three lived in the same apartment building in West New York, N.J., and ate dinner together just about every other night, said Raymond Colbert. “And weekends, of course. And holidays.”
He was 38 years old. His parents are both 79. And now time crawls. “Only child, you know?” said Raymond Colbert. “We are 16- C; he was 18-G.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Steve Wilson was born in DeRidder, Louisiana and grew up in both New Orleans and Macon, Georgia. He moved to Brevard County in 1984 and retired from local government as the Community Advocate/Assistant to the City Manager with the City of Rockledge in 2018.
Among the awards and accolades Steve has received over the years are 15 + year Rockledge Little League volunteer, Brevard Public School Jefferson Award Recipient, Rockledge High School Raider Booster Award 2001, 2006, City of Rockledge Employee of the Year 2006, Rockledge Kiwanian of the Year 2006-2007, City of Rockledge Quality Public Service Award 2008, 2012, 2017, Rockledge Kiwanis Citizen of the Year 2012-2013, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Sportscasting 2015, Rockledge High School Leadership and Service Award 2016, Central Florida Humanitarian Award 2017, Space Coast Inspiration Award – 2018, Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame – Lifetime Achievement – 2020, Ecofest Achievement Award – 2022, Quality Floridian Award – 2022, presented by U.S. Congressman Bill Posey, Florida House District 32 Constituent of the Week 4/20/25.
Wilson is especially proud of his chairing two fundraisers in support of pediatric cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in honor of Merritt Island resident Julie Spurlock that raised over $25,000.00.
He has been a partner, along with Orville Susong, for the past 27 years with the Friday Night Locker Room, a broadcasting team that covers and reports on a wide variety of local events that are of significance to the residents of the Space Coast and beyond. Their mission is to promote youth sports, support first responders and law enforcement personnel, and showcase community and charitable events that are produced by our nonprofit partners in central Florida.
The Friday Night Locker Room has awarded hundreds of sports achievement plaques to Brevard County student-athletes over the years. They have also awarded more than $18,000 in academic scholarships to Brevard County high school seniors.
