DENVER (KDVR) — Celebrated poet, author and Colorado Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson died on Monday morning after being diagnosed with cancer four years ago.

“Whenever I leave this world, whether it’s sixty years from now, I wouldn’t want anyone to say I lost some battle,” Gibson said before their death. “I’ll be a winner that day.”

Gibson, based in Boulder and used they/them pronouns, was 49 years old and had become Colorado’s Poet Laureate in 2023 after being selected by Gov. Jared Polis. Gibson was a champion of LGBTQ+ issues, spirituality, feminism, mental health, gun reform and the dismantling of oppressive social systems, according to Colorado’s Poet Laureate program site and the subject of a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

In a Facebook post Monday afternoon announcing Gibson’s death, loved ones, including Gibson’s wife Megan Falley, said Gibson “was a winner today” as they were surrounded by Falley, their parents, friends and ex-girlfriends and the couple’s three dogs.

“Since learning they had cancer in 2021, Andrea has been a champion of finding beauty in unlikely places and gratitude in the hardest hours,” Falley and another loved one, Heather, said in the post. “Over the last four years, they danced with their diagnosis, and continually aimed their internal compass toward joy.”

Falley and Heather went on to quote a poem from Gibson titled “Love Letter From the Afterlife.”

I am more here than I ever was before. I am more with you than I ever could have imagined.

Andrea Gibson, “Love Letter From the Afterlife”

Gibson and Falley were recently the subjects of a documentary titled “Come See Me In The Good Light,” which follows their lives during Gibson’s cancer fight. The documentary premiered this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Gibson is the author of six full-length collections of poetry. They are a two-time winner of the Independent Publishers Award, a three-time Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist and the winner of the first Women’s World Poetry Slam, according to Polis’s office.

Polis on Monday afternoon released a statement on Gibson’s death.

“Renowed for inspiring poetry, advocacy for arts in education, and unique ability to connect with the vast and diverse poetry lovers of Colorado, Andrea was truly one of a kind and will be deeply missed by personal friends as well all who were touched by their poetry,” Polis said. “My thoughts go out to Andrea’s loved ones during this difficult time.”

Rocky Mountain Equality, a Boulder-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, also shared thoughts on Gibson’s impact in the community.

“Andrea’s words have cracked many of us open and stitched us back together again,” the organization said in a Facebook post. “We are so grateful for the support they have shown the queer movement here in Colorado and across the country. They will be deeply missed, and their words will continue to echo through our communities.”

Falley and Heather in the Facebook post on Gibson’s page also said they will keep telling Gibson’s story and keep them alive in every way they can.

“Andrea would want you to know that they got their wish,” the two said. “In the end, their heart was covered in stretch marks.”