Beatrice Miller Romer, a recognized expert in early childhood education who was the driving force behind Colorado's statewide preschool program and First Lady of Colorado for twelve years, died on Sept. 10. She was 93.

Bea died surrounded by family including her husband of 70 years, Gov. Roy Romer, in her daughter's home after a long illness.

"Children were the light of her life. Nothing compares to the smile on Bea's face in the presence of a child. She never stopped thinking about how to make the world better for them," said Liz Romer, one of Bea's seven children and chief clinical advisor for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs. "Her legacy lives on across the state of Colorado in early childhood education. And it lives on in herseven children, 22 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren."

Bea was born in 1929 in Laramie, WY to Arthur and Lova Miller. The family moved to Denver shortly after Bea graduated from high school in Nebraska. Her father, Arthur Miller was the longtime pastor of Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Denver. Bea graduated from Colorado State University in 1951 with a degree in childhood development. She would ultimately add to that in 1989 with a master's degree in educational psychology from the University of Colorado, Denver.

She launched her first foray into building a preschool program in 1964 when she co-founded what is now the acclaimed Montview Community Preschool and Kindergarten. She would also go on to co-found Stanley British Primary School and Stanley Teacher Prep Program in Denver.

In 1965, Bea established the working group that would bring Head Start to Colorado for the first time. Anna Jo Haynes, a long-time early childhood education advocate in Denver, remembers Bea reaching out with the opportunity.

"You knew if Bea Romer is heading it, it would be done right. We all knew how good she was on early childhood education," Haynes said. "We got busy and it was an incredible summer to get this program launched. And Bea was still running her own school at Montview. But Bea didn't see problems or challenges, she saw these opportunities as a privilege to contribute. People knew that, and they responded and got involved. She just had that way with people."

When her husband, Roy, was elected governor in 1987, he tapped her to bring her early childhood expertise to children, families and communities statewide. Her work in this arena at the state level is largely credited as the epicenter for what at the time were cutting-edge improvements that Colorado made to early childhood education and specifically for children from birth to three years of age as well as opportunities for young children who were the most likely to fall through the cracks.

"Way before I understood the importance of early childhood education, Bea was already leading the charge. She had political expertise and important insights. And her leadership made possible all of the improvements in the childcare system and the preschool system that we see across our state," said Barbara O'Brien, founder of the Colorado Children's Campaign and former Colorado Lt. Governor. "This is a huge loss. She is a symbol of what is right in public life. She imagined a different future for young at-risk kids and then she put the pieces in place to make it a reality."

With a taskforce of experts from across the state, Bea stewarded the development of the "First Impressions" initiative which focused on then unprecedented concepts in early childhood education such as the value of preschool to young, developing minds, the critical role of fathers as caregivers, the need to better support families who were struggling and the importance of investment in early childhood education as an investment in the future.

"She never pushed. She never demanded. She never took offense. She never was critical of people who had different views. She quietly and gently moved forward an agenda that was unheard of at that time," said Sally Kweskin Vogler, who worked with Bea for more than a decade and was the first director of First Impressions. "She loved children. It drove her to be something that she actually fundamentally wasn't. She never would have sought out any spotlight. But this passion that she had for children just allowed her to become a tremendously effective and admired leader. She never walked away from her love of children and her desire to see each and every one of them have the chance to thrive."

Bea was the driving force behind legislation that created the Colorado Preschool Project, today the Colorado Preschool Program. This initiative improved and made more accessible high-quality early childhood care and education and continues to be the framework for early childhood education in Colorado. The initiative launched to help at-risk preschoolers prepare for school focusing its early work on building local coalitions to support expansion of early childhood education opportunities and to advance the belief that investing in early childhood education was essential. She also championed the importance of accreditation and standards for early childhood educators, also unheard of at that time.

"It came from her heart. She had studied and she had worked with young children and their parents. She was a true expert," said Donna Garnett, who served as the second director of the First Impressions program. "She didn't say, this is my chance to be the First Lady. She said, how do we harness the work of all of the advocates who have worked together for years? Bea was an inspiration to all of us. She used her position to really work on behalf of children."

Bea was also influential in launching Colorado's Family Resource Centers which focus on helping support families in need across a spectrum of services, providing a single door to help. Today, Colorado has 38 of these centers serving thousands of families.

"She would describe herself first as a mother and grandmother and finally she would get around to saying she was the First Lady of Colorado," said Jennie Kauerz Dawe, who served as Bea's executive assistant. "She was just lovely and authentic. She made things happen in a quiet way, but she changed Colorado for the better for kids, and it will be her enduring legacy."

Bea was widely recognized in Colorado and nationally for her innovation and tenacity on behalf of early childhood education. Through the years she served on eight national and 19 state boards to improve early childhood education including the Child Care Action Campaign, the Family Resource Coalition of America, the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the National Head Start Fellowship Review Committee.

She won numerous awards for her efforts including the Friend of Education Award and a Citation for Distinguished State and Government Service for Advocacy on Behalf of Colorado's Children. Outside of her substantial policy contributions, Bea was a voracious reader and the ringleader of several book clubs. She loved to travel and visited every continent except Antarctica. She appreciated art and specifically supported and loved the Denver Art Museum. And finally, she deeply loved her time with family at their mountain home which she helped to develop into the heart of every Romer family gathering.

Bea was preceded in death by her parents, Aurthur and Lova Miller as well as two brothers William and Norman Miller. She is survived by her husband, Gov. Roy Romer, her seven children Mark Romer (Donna), Paul Romer (Caroline Weber), Mary Romer Ammons (Tim Ammons), Chris Romer (Laurie), Tim Romer (Carey), Tom Romer (Lauren) and Liz Romer, her grandchildren Jennifer Romer Nelson, Sarah Romer, David Romer, Michael Romer, Geoffrey Romer, Amy Romer, Katie Ammons Van Deventer, Chris Ammons, Maggie Spickert-Ammons, Paul Ammons, Peter Ammons, Rachel Romer, Paige Romer, Grace Romer, Alison Romer, Sammy Romer, Michele Romer, John Romer, Charlotte Romer, Cecilia Romer, Annabel Romer and Sydney Chivers and her 15 great grandchildren.

The family will announce plans for a memorial service in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Bea's favorite early childhood organizations including Montview Community Preschool and Kindergarten , Stanley British Primary School , CSU Early Childhood Center , The Delores Project and Clayton Early Learning Center .

Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 25, 2024, 1:00pm at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church 1980 Dahlia St, Denver, CO 80220.