Retired Associated Press newsman Quane Kenyon dies; covered Idaho politics for quarter-century

Quane Kenyon, a retired Associated Press newsman who covered Idaho politics for 25 years, died of a heart attack at a Boise hospital on Tuesday. He was 76.

A graduate of Idaho State University, Kenyon began his AP career as a copy boy in the Salt Lake City bureau in 1958. He then worked six years for the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello, followed by the Salt Lake Tribune, before rejoining AP in 1970, first in Salt Lake City and then in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to the Boise bureau in 1973.

By the time he retired in 1999, Kenyon estimated he had covered more than 40 organizational, special and regular legislative sessions for the wire service. After hearing the news of his impending retirement, the 54th Idaho Legislature passed a concurrent resolution commending him for years of unbiased coverage that contributed to the public knowledge.

Shortly after leaving journalism, then-Gov. Dirk Kempthorne appointed him to the Idaho Board of Health and Welfare, where he served for 11 years.

In 2013, he got a chance to witness Idaho government from the other side of the notebook, serving as a replacement for Boise Republican Sen. Fred Martin for three days while the senator was traveling.

Martin said Wednesday that he had just talked to Kenyon several hours before his death. Kenyon had reached out because he wanted to know what was happening in the Senate, Martin said.

"He was a beloved favorite here. He was the most knowledgeable man in Idaho on all things political," Martin said. "He will be missed."

Kenyon was the co-author of "Bizkaia to Boise: The Memoirs of Pete T. Cenarrusa," with Cenarrusa, a former longtime Idaho Secretary of State.

Kenyon is survived by his wife of 57 years, Geraldean Kenyon, and his four children: John Quane Kenyon, Tracy Kenyon Leavitt, Stephen Kenyon and Craig Kenyon.

Stephen Kenyon said funeral arrangements are being handled by Relyea Funeral Home in Boise.