Former Ward 6 Councilmember Nadine Winter, one of the first elected members to the D.C. Council, died on Friday.

This LL did not get to know Winter, but LL No. 1, Ken Cummins did. He recalls her 1984 justification for voting to overturn the District’s no-fault auto insurance law: “My constituents tell me they want to be able to do two things in life: win the lottery and sue somebody,” Winter said.

Here is Winter’s bio, courtesy of Council Chairman Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown’s office:

Nadine P. Winter represented Ward 6 on the Council from 1975 to 1991.  Ms. Winter moved to Washington from Winston-Salem, NC, in 1947 and began working as a social services advocate. She was the founder and former Executive Director of Hospitality House, Inc., a nonprofit organization that assisted low-income families, youth, seniors, and homeless persons. Ms. Winter was one of the original organizers of the National Welfare Rights Organization. Her political involvement included serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and as a member of the National Democratic Women’s Club and the District of Columbia Women’s Political Caucus. After retiring from government, she founded Health Action Information Network, a non-profit agency providing health education and a community resource.

Ms. Winter was a member of the National Association of Social Workers; a founding member of the National Congress of Black Women and a member of the Self-Determination for DC Coalition. She also was active in the community of breast cancer survivors.

Winter’s body will lie in state at the Wilson Building on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.