It was the colors that stood out as hundreds braved the cold on Friday to celebrate the life of Sen. Faith Winter, who died in a two-car crash on Nov. 26. Flags at the state Capitol flew at half-staff at the order of Gov. Jared Polis. The colors – a tribute to Winter, 45, who loved bright co lors and showed them off almost daily – permeated the state Capitol on the wintry Friday. Her family had asked that everyone wear something colorful – not the traditional funeral black. Orange was the color of the day. If someone wasn’t wearing orange, there were plenty of ribbons, buttons and stickers at the ready. Winter served 11 years in the General Assembly, four in the House and seven in the Senate. She would have been term-limited after the 2026 session. Senator Faith Winter’s daughter, Sienna Snook, cries in her seat during the celebration of the life for her mother, who died in a car crash last week, outside the Colorado state Capitol on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.(Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) During the 2022 legislative session, Winter said she would wear a different, colorful dress every day, and each one told a story. She always wore a dress to the state’s center of policymaking. If every color were a story about Winter, there were hundreds at the Capitol on Friday. Current and former lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, as well as hundreds of those influenced by Winter, were on hand to grieve her passing – and celebrate her life. There were tears, to be sure, but there were also laughter and joy. Family members and friends, both from inside and outside the Capitol, shared their memories of Winter. Friends family and colleagues mingle on the west steps of the Colorado State Capitol following a celebration of life for Sen. Faith Winter on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) Polis called Winter a “steady, compassionate, and fierce advocate for all families in Colorado.” “From her time as an environmental advocate to her leadership in the halls of the State Capitol, Faith’s dedication improved the lives of all Coloradans,” he said. Legislators dress in bright colors to honor the late Senator Faith Winter during the celebration of life for Sen. Faith Winter outside the Colorado State Capitol on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) Friend Jessica Walker said Winter knew the importance of showing up. “She wasn’t worried about a meal coming out perfectly or if the house was a mess,” Walker said. “She was most concerned with being there for her family and friends” and making sure everyone had a place, felt safe, seen and heard. She left with a full belly and “a sense of knowing that you mattered,” Walker said. “We’ve laughed and cried, but mostly laughed,” Walker said, adding she kept a notebook of “Faith-isms” – things that Winter said that made Walker laugh. “She laughed with her whole body,” Walker added. “We were happy, giggly and mildly rebellious.” Winter’s daughter, Sienna, told the crowd that her mom put so much love into the world and “her voice was made for those who didn’t have one.” Sienna pledged to live her life in honor of her mom. It was her role as mom that was the most important, according to those who spoke at the state Capitol. U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen said Winter “was a bad*** who got s*** done.” Rep. Jenny Willford, Hazel Gibson, and U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen hug one another on the west steps of the Colorado state Capitol at the end of the celebration of life for the late Sen. Faith Winter on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (Stephen Swofford, Denver Gazette) For many women in elected office, Winter was a recruiter before she was a lawmaker, she said. In a statement, Pettersen said Winter “was a mentor to thousands, a loyal friend to those of us who were lucky enough to know her, a courageous and dedicated public servant, but most importantly, she was a mom.” “We will remember Faith in every rainbow and waterfall, in every challenge we overcome, and we will remember her in her most important legacy, Tobin and Sienna,” the congresswoman said, referring to Winter’s two children. Former state Rep. Leslie Herod of Denver read from Maya Angelou’s poem, “Phenomenal Woman,” and said Winter was in every sense, a phenomenal woman, “a force whose presence filled every room with purpose, compassion, and conviction.” Winter moved through the world with “quiet power that lifted others” and with courage and grace, Herod said. “Like the spirit echoed in Phenomenal Woman, Faith’s strength was never about volume or spectacle – it was about the undeniable impact she left on everyone who had the privilege of walking beside her,” she said. As Herod read the poem, one woman in the audience mouthed the words along with Herod. Sophia Mayott-Guerrero, who recently finished a term of office in Lakewood City Council, said Winter was a mentor. “She taught me to be a whole person,” Mayott-Guerrero told Colorado Politics. State Sen. Lisa Cutter said Winter valued family, friendship, and connection, both inside and outside of the Capitol. “It can get very lonely in this place despite being surrounded by people. She always lifted me up and had my back, no matter what she was going through herself. I could always count on Faith, and I know many of you feel the same,” Cutter said. A GoFundMe page has been set up to cover funeral expenses and for college funds for Winter’s children. The crash that took Winter’s life is still under investigation by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department, which said the cause could take weeks to determine. A toxicology report is also expected. ...read more read less