DENVER — Family, friends, and past and present colleagues of the late State Senator Faith Winter gathered on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol to remember her legacy during a memorial service Friday afternoon.
The late Sen. Winter died at the age of 45 in a multi-vehicle crash on I-25 last Friday. She was entering her 12th and final year as a state lawmaker, according to The Colorado Sun.
"A lot of people are going to be coming together today to pay their respects to Senator Winter, who mentored so many of the people who are going to be coming to honor her," said Shad Murib, the chair for the Colorado Democratic Party.
Murib was among the many who attended the service Friday afternoon. He spoke with Denver7 about some of the memories he holds of the late senator.
"My experience with Faith is a unique one. I was a staffer for the senate caucus and also worked for Senator John Hickenlooper and so I got to negotiate with her and work with her... and her sarcasm her wit, she was so dryly funny I would walk away and 20 minutes later realize the joke she was making at my expense," he said. "The thing that I most remember about Faith and I think if you ask everyone here, everyone considered her a best friend. That's how she made people feel."
Former State Senator Kerry Donovan was also among those present at Friday's service for Senator Winter. She told Denver7 years ago she shared an office space with the late senator.
The two were a part of the 2019 so-called 'Fab Five', which were five women who helped flipped the senate from red to blue for the first time in years.
"2019 was the year we came into the session as the 'Fab Five', which I'm pretty sure was Faith's idea," she told Denver7. "She had like cookies made that said 'Fab Five' on it and we had this great momentum of pulling us all together into the Senate and it was really important because we took control of the Senate."
"I think I'll remember her voice, which you get used to when you'd be around her," Donovan said. "I think it gave her this edge of impact. If you dismissed Faith and her goals you were going to end up at the end of the day feeling like you should've worked with her."
For those like State Rep. Shannon Bird, the memories are also infinite.
"Faith and I worked together as I was working to get elected to Westminster City Council. Like so many other women in Colorado, Faith was instrumental in making introductions for me and showing us what it was like to work hard," Rep. Bird said.
"I will remember her tenacity," she added. "I will remember Faith's love and commitment for our community, for our state, her passion and all of the work that she did with her heart to make sure Colorado is a better place for families, for children, for all of us that call this state home."
The late senator leaves behind two children. She was 45 years old.
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