Idaho Journalist, Author Louise Shadduck Dies at 92

By: Louise Shadduck, a woman former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt called one of Idaho's great treasures, died Sunday at 92.

Shadduck was a journalist, columnist and author from Coeur d'Alene who later worked for Lt. Gov. Donald Whitehead, Govs. C.A. Robins, Len Jordan and Don Samuelson, U.S. Sen. Henry Dworshak and U.S. Rep. Orval Hansen.

She was the first woman in the nation to serve at a state cabinet level when Gov. Robert Smylie in the late 1950s appointed her Idaho Secretary of Commerce and Development.

Governor "Butch" Otter marked her death by calling it "a sad day." He said, "Louise Shadduck was a great lady, a great friend and a great Idahoan."

In a 2002 interview, Shadduck said of her historical books, "I'm trying to preserve as much Idaho history as I can. Every time I read an obituary of an old-timer, my heart aches because I think, 'Well, there goes a lot of Idaho history.'"