Friends, family remember prominent transgender community member
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DENVER — Those who knew Jax Gratton best remembered for her striking blue eyes, bold sense of style and deep love of art.
Nearly two months after Gratton was reported missing, the Lakewood Police Department discovered her body in an alley June 6. Authorities have not yet released the cause of death.
Gratton, a transgender woman, worked as a hairstylist at Solera Salon Suites, where she built a devoted following, especially among transgender women who sought not only her talent with hair, but her empathy and shared experience. Her glamorous cuts offered more than beauty; they gave her clients affirmation, confidence and a sense of being truly seen.
“The love that Jax gave, shared, and inspired in all of us outshines everything,” said Brandy Carey, a fellow stylist at Solera. “She was very proud to be a trans woman, and she walked through this world with courage and dignity, even when the world didn’t always return the same to her.”
Carey spoke to a crowd of about 100 people Monday night at The Highlands United Methodist Church, where Gratton’s Catholic family and friends performed a Rosary service and dozens who knew her shared remarks about her legacy. Attendees decorated the room with rainbow balloons and blared Gratton’s favorite music — Lady Gaga, Madonna and Beyonce.
“She wouldn’t have wanted something sad and boring,” said Carey. “She was larger than life, and her service needed to reflect that.”
Born in Las Vegas and raised in Idaho, Gratton moved to Denver and attended South High School. She came out as a transgender woman in 2016 when she was 25 years old. She began her medical transition that same year.
“From a young age, she loved to play with dolls, loved fashion and clothing, and loved dressing up,” said her mother, Cherilyn Gratton-Camis.
So when Gratton flew to Idaho, where her mother was living at the time, pulled out a vial of estrogen, and told her she was transgender, Gratton-Camis wasn’t surprised. She and Gratton’s younger sister, Marilyn Monroe Gratton, embraced her immediately as the third woman in the family.
Just months later, Gratton began teaching Marilyn Monroe how to advocate for and educate others about transgender people. That spirit of advocacy would come to define Gratton.
“Throughout her transition and her own journey, she just really inspired me to be able to be me and she reminded me that I'm loved as I am and that my voice is strong and powerful,” said Cyrus Laroche, a transgender man who met Gratton at Rainbow Alley — the Center on Colfax’s program for LGBTQ+ youth — when they were both in their early 20’s. “To know Jax was to witness what it meant to live unapologetically.”
Laroche clearly remembers the first time meeting Gratton. Her high heels thumped down the stairs at the Center, and what Laroche expected would be an intimidating figure rounded the corner with bright blue eyes and a surprisingly warm smile.
“She was gorgeous,” Laroche remembers thinking. Though Gratton was still presenting as a man, there was a softness and feminine warmth about her, Laroche said— a kindness that stood out from the other men in Laroche’s life.
Gratton loved to laugh, Laroche remembers. She would take up one half of an L-shaped couch during movie nights at Rainbow Alley, and Laroche would take the other. The two would crack jokes throughout the movie and share a collection of cookies and candy taken from other events at the Center.
“Her laughter and her wit left such an impression on everyone she came into contact with,” Laroche said.
When prominent LGBTQ+ community members die, the whole community hurts, said Onyx Steele, who met Gratton at the Center on Colfax. Steele said many of the people in Monday’s attendance likely didn’t know Gratton, but felt a connection because of their shared identities.
Gratton was also a devout Catholic. Her grandparents introduced her to the church, and she clung to the parts of it that resonated with her: caring for the sick and poor, showing compassion for others around you and believing in a higher power. Pope Francis and Madonna were her two greatest inspirations — the pope for his support of marginalized groups, and Madonna for her beauty, glamour and talent.
“From a young age, she believed that God made no mistakes,” her mother remembers. “And she was always a little unique in her beliefs in Catholicism around her friends, but she didn’t mind.”
Gratton also loved performing. She considered the hairstyles she cut, dyed and prepared a creative art. She tried out performing as a drag queen in various gay clubs in town, but “her dancing skills just weren’t quite there,” her mother lovingly remembered.
Grace Shimmer, a friend Gratton met while the two were studying together at the Community College of Denver, said Gratton always had an eye for color and patterns. The two collaborated on several art projects. Gratton was the designer and model. Shimmer was the photographer. The friends once cut a seatbelt out of Shimmer’s car, and Gratton used it to tie together a dress she designed. The seatbelt represented Gratton’s masculine and feminine sides conjoining, Shimmer said.
The day after she made it, Gratton showed up to her classes proudly modeling the dress.
“She probably did get some strange looks,” Shimmer said. “But she embraced it.”
Steele, who also met Gratton in the Rainbow Alley program, said Gratton was an outspoken and public advocate for her community. After President Donald Trump signed several executive orders targeting transgender people, Gratton attended protests and took to social media to fight back. She often provided free haircuts for other transgender women, unhoused people and those in addiction recovery.
“If I’ve learned anything from Jax, it is to be as vocal about this moment as possible,” Steele said.
One evening in 2024, Steele said they were in a “dark place,” having a cigarette outside a bar on East Colfax. Snow was falling. As Steele puffed their cigarette, they heard a familiar voice call out to them and saw Jax sprinting down an icy sidewalk, eager to throw her arms around her friend. Gratton had gotten off the bus miles before her stop in order to console Steele. She told Steele it was no problem, because she’d catch a later bus.
“If I’m ever going to remember anything from Jax, it's to hop off the bus and hug my friends,” Steele said. “I can catch the next one.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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