Despite 'living his best life,' he succumbed to addiction
Jul. 20—Judging by the turnout at a service in his memory, James Labbe didn't die lonely.
On July 13, more than 300 people filled the Calvary Chapel in Uncasville to celebrate his life, which had ended suddenly, unexpectedly less than a month earlier.
He was dearly loved by family and friends who spoke about him at the service. Even acquaintances, they said, responded to an undeniable charisma he dispensed with what his sister-in-law, Ashley Labbe, described as a "light-up-the-room" smile.
Sadly, James Labbe, 35, who grew up in Baltic, was a statistic, too, one of the hundreds and thousands of people in Connecticut and across the country who have continued to succumb to opioid overdoses. The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner attributed his June 20 death to "acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and cocaine."
The manner of death was termed "accidental."
His mother, Linda Labbe, is one of the founding members of Community Speaks Out, the Groton-based nonprofit that over the past decade has provided assistance to scores of individuals and families struggling with addiction.
She is not the first founding member to lose a son.
Tammy de la Cruz and her husband, former state Rep. Joe de la Cruz of Groton, helped found Community Speaks Out after their teenage son, Joey Gingerella, became addicted to prescription painkillers. Amid his recovery, Gingerella was shot and killed while trying to stop an assault outside a Groton bar in 2016.
Lisa Cote Johns of Montville, the organization's other founding member, had lost her 33-year-old son Christopher P. Johns to a heroin overdose in 2014.
At last week's meeting of Community Speaks Out, another mother, Joellyn Marie Rojas of Alliance for Living, a southeastern Connecticut service organization, spoke about losing a daughter to addiction.
Through mid-April, nearly 300 fatal drug overdoses had occurred this year in Connecticut, 82% of which involved fentanyl, according to preliminary data reported by the state Department of Public Health. In 2023, overdose-related deaths in Connecticut totaled 1,342, a decrease of 8.3% over the 1,464 such deaths recorded in 2022. About 84% of the 2023 deaths involved fentanyl.
Seemed to be in a good place
Speakers at the memorial service for James Labbe expressed some of the shock many in the chapel undoubtedly felt about his death. He had seemed to be in a good place. He had support in abundance. He'd found solace in his faith.
Shelva Leep, his cousin, introduced a series of musical selections, saying the assembled would "hear James" in country rocker HARDY's "Give Heaven Some Hell" lyrics:
"You got a line out the church door sayin' goodbye/Yeah, I believe 'em when they say you're in a better place/You had a wild side, but you had amazing grace."
Joe de la Cruz said everyone who knew James must now be dealing with "a case of the whys." He said he's still asking that about his own son's death more than seven years ago.
"James didn't lose his battle alone," de la Cruz said. "Keep telling his story. Grief will be a part of it."
Dylan Howley, a recovering alcoholic who founded Lefty's Cycle Project, which repairs bicycles and distributes them to those in recovery, said he and James hit it off right away when James started volunteering with the organization.
Recovery is lived constantly, Howley said. "You think about getting through this day, this hour, this moment."
Neither Linda nor her husband, Jay Labbe, spoke at their son's service. Linda, given some more time, expressed herself last week in an email in which she credited her son for his years of commitment to recovery. He had temporarily been living with them at home in Baltic after leaving a sober-living facility in New London.
State police notified them of their son's death the evening of June 20. He'd been found on Route 12 near the Ledyard-Preston line. They're awaiting further details.
"It's hard for us to wrap our heads around how this happened because he was so happy and living his best life right now, but there is always that battle in their mind when they are struggling with addiction," Linda wrote.
She believes her son became addicted to opioids after graduating high school at Norwich Tech.
"I don't think kids who were experimenting with these pills at the time had any idea how addictive and dangerous they were," she wrote. "Our country was being flooded with opioids and then we soon found out they are the same thing as heroin."
James was always willing to get help, according to his mother.
"Living in recovery is not easy but very rewarding," she wrote. "It's hard work for them every day but people in recovery are the most amazing, resilient people. James worked hard every day for his recovery. Unless you lived through this with your loved one, most people don't understand the work involved."
James, who loved anything to do with wheels, including riding his bike and his dirt bike, had been working at a garage in New London.
His mother wrote that he'd also become involved with Community Speaks Out, attending many of its meetings and taking part in its activities. He liked giving back to the community.
She indicated she remains committed to Community Speaks Out.
"We will continue our mission with a big focus on recovery and getting into schools," she wrote. "Prevention and education need to be a big focus in our schools."
