Jil Rosentrater, a longtime champion of the arts in Colorado and a former member of the Greeley Chamber of Commerce, passed away Feb. 17 after battling ovarian cancer. She was 65.

She served as director of cultural affairs for the city of Greeley for 25 years and played an integral role in the development of the Union Colony Civic Center.

Rosentrater became the director of Art in Public Places for the state of Colorado in 2006. She was charged with managing the state's "1 percent for art" statute and was responsible for the acquisition and placement of 46 art installations in Colorado public facilities — valuing at over $4.7 million.

Her more recent projects include facilitating the installation of a terrazzo map floor at the new Colorado history museum and 10 other installations at the Colorado Justice Center.

Rosentrater's last effort for the arts was to develop a searchable database of the state's entire art collection.

In lieu of flowers, her family requests contributions to the Greeley Community Foundation, Arts Alive fund or any preferred arts organization in Rosentrater's name. A celebration of her life will take place at a later date.