James Thomas Neubacher
December 14, 1949 – March 22, 1990

Jim Neubacher was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first of five children, two boys and three girls. Jim attended Cooke School and Cass Technical High School in Detroit and West Bloomfield High School.

Enrolling at the University of Michigan, Jim became involved with the Michigan Daily and soon developed what was to become a lifelong love of journalism. He was a summer apprentice at the Detroit Free Press and after graduation was hired by the Free Press.

Working out of the City Room, Jim became an investigative reporter who covered a wide range of events from police raids to interviews with prominent citizens; he was also involved in covering national stories from Cape Cod to California.

In 1978, Jim was assigned the Canadian beat; working out of Toronto, he had the entire country of Canada to cover. Here he wrote of the Canadian government in Ottawa, as well as the remote area in the Yukon and western Canada. He visited scores of locales and wrote from first-hand contact with his subject.

In 1979, multiple sclerosis struck and Jim returned to Detroit, already disabled by the disease and searching for a new outlet for his career. In 1982, he found it – his column “Disabled in Detroit” was launched in the Free Press. The column soon acquired national recognition as a voice for those with disabilities; many of the columns went on the Knight-Ridder wire for national readership. The column became a model for a number of similar efforts around the country.

In his column, Jim spoke out for equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities; housing, child care, access to transportation and facilities, education – these were just a few topics he tackled. Countless individuals and organizations told of the inspiration and encouragement they received from having a public voice for their concerns. Dozens of Awards and citations were given including his 1991 induction into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

Jim Neubacher died at age 40. He had no children.