Long Serving Idaho Public Servant Pete Cenarrusa Dies

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Pete T. Cenarrusa, a Basque-American who held state office in Idaho uninterrupted for more than five decades, has died. He was 95. Cenarrusa died about noon on Sunday at his home in Boise after a battle with lung cancer, said Roy Eiguren, president of the Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque Culture. Cenarrusa's wife of 66 years, Freda, was at his side. Cenarrusa was elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 1950 and served nine terms, including three terms as Speaker. Governor Don Samuelson appointed him Idaho Secretary of State in 1967. He held that post for nearly 36 years, retiring in 2003 at age 85. He is survived by his wife, daughter-in-law Jean Cenarrusa-Jacobson and her husband Greg, two grandsons and two great grandchildren.