Bea Romer, Colorado first lady who championed state-funded preschool, dies at 93

Associated Press

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado first lady Bea Romer, who  helped establish public funding for preschool to help the state’s neediest children in the 1980s, has died. She was 93. Romer was the wife of former Democratic Gov. Roy Romer and championed early-childhood education nationwide throughout her life. Her family said she died in her daughter’s Colorado home on Sunday from respiratory failure. Romer helped establish the Colorado Preschool Project, which was an early incarnation of what’s steadily grown into a universal preschool program for Colorado children that launched in 2023. She is survived by her husband and her seven children, along with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.