It is with shock and sadness that we share news of JD Huntsman's passing in early-February, 2023 at the age of 53.
Lambert House held a Remembrance Event at our Capitol Hill Drop-In Center on Tuesday, February 21st at 6pm. This event was open to current and alumni youth, as well as current and former volunteers, and invited guests who included some of JD’s colleagues and family. Those in attendance shared memories about JD which allowed us to both cry and laugh together. If you were close to JD and would like access to an audio recording of the event, please email brandon@lamberthouse.org.
If you were JD’s private-practice client, his therapist colleagues invite you to contact them to find a new therapist by reaching out to Zane Behnke via email at zane@zanebehnke.com; you may also visit their website at http://www.zanebehnke.com/.
Comments from Brandon Knox, Lambert House Program Director and Friend of JD:
JD Huntsman became a Lambert House volunteer in September 2008. He and I nearly overlapped as I was a program participant until July 2008! JD held a weekly shift in our drop-in center from 2008 through February 2020, including serving as a Floor Supervisor supporting a volunteer team for many years. He often volunteered on the overnight shift for our Youth Pride Sleepover, and occasionally helped at other youth events as well. During the COVID-19 pandemic, JD continued to support by organizing program information, and assembling our monthly program calendar as he had for many years prior to the pandemic. Our February program calendar, currently on our website, was made by JD just a few weeks ago.
Over his tenure at Lambert House, JD also joined the Lambert House staff as the Interim Volunteer Coordinator, twice, and at other times to help with projects. Even when JD was not a member of the paid staff, he would often volunteer to attend Volunteer Training to help with set-up, clean-up, and contribute his experience and thoughts throughout the training sessions.
JD made safe space possible for thousands of LGBTQ+ youth. He developed meaningful relationships with, and was a role model for, many. He supported other volunteers in addressing complex issues while centering the needs of youth. We also saw, and commiserated with, JD as he worked through graduate school and supervised hours to become a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, a long-term goal that he accomplished in 2019.
JD was the Interim Volunteer Coordinator when I was hired in 2014, and helped to train me. I was lucky to share an office with him during his several stints on our paid staff since then. JD and I have had countless conversations about how to serve youth better, how to make Lambert House even more welcoming than it was, and how to train and support volunteers. I have been so grateful for his support, friendly disagreements, wisdom, and dedication to making the world better for LGBTQ+ youth.
Comments from Ken Shulman, Lambert House Executive Director and Friend of JD:
I already missed JD since his private counseling practice grew quickly after he launched it, and he gradually phased out of his paid role on the Lambert House staff a couple of years ago. I was happy, though, for his success and that JD wanted to stay on as a Friday late-shift volunteer. Any little bit of him that we could get was wonderful.
JD was wise in his work with youth. Twelve years ago I watched him interact very skillfully with a youth in the CyberCenter and realized that JD was knowledgeable and highly capable in handling difficult interactions. And that was before he went to graduate school at Antioch Seattle where he earned a Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Years before we knew him, JD completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago, one of the country’s top-rated private undergraduate universities. He was smart and also humble, quiet and effective. A little unvarnished at times in his communication, but only because he was deeply caring and committed. He made the world a better place. I can’t believe he’s gone at age 53.
JD had a rye sense of humor. Very rye; he regularly told us that he hated everybody on the planet, but that was really an expression of how much he loved everyone, how much he wanted to help, and how frustrated he was that he couldn’t fix everything for everybody all the time. I asked him once, when the house was very busy, to go downstairs to work with a youth and their parent who had come in for the first time. JD complained: “That means I’ll have to be nice! Are you really going to make me be nice?!”
As Brandon already mentioned, JD presented valuable information in countless volunteer training sessions that he coordinated. I was always grateful for every word he spoke; every word was necessary and useful, well-timed and substantive. JD’s recommendation of his friend and fellow Antioch classmate, Heidi, to become one of our volunteer trainers was a major contribution to Lambert House.
For more than 13 years, through at least 2,626 hours of volunteering, and through several years of part-time professional work on the Lambert House staff, JD Huntsman cared about LGBTQ+ youth and made their lives better. He knew how to live. I will miss him.