Politician Watson commits suicide

Former District 4 state representative Larry Watson, who represented Shoshone, Benewah and Kootenai counties, shot and killed himself Wednesday night in his Star, Idaho, home.

Watson, 54, killed himself at about 10 p.m., Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg said Thursday.

Watson served two terms in the Idaho Legislature and in July 1999 was appointed by the governor to serve on the Idaho State Tax Commission, a $65,000 per year job. His term expired on March 8 this year, and he was not reappointed.

“We had heard earlier that he was not going to be reappointed and that indeed had not happened,” said Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd, who was appointed to fill out Watson’s term in the Legislature and later re-elected. “So I have an idea that he was real depressed.”

Shepherd ran Watson’s two campaigns but had lost touch with him, she said.

A Silver Valley native and former ski patrolman at Lookout Pass ski area, Watson was also a deputy assessor in Shoshone County since 1976. He worked with former assessor Duane Little in the office for 24 or 26 years, Little said.

Little said he talked to Watson just last week and didn’t know that anything was troubling his friend. Little said he didn’t ask why Watson wasn’t reappointed.

Watson was married to the Lewis County assessor, Leslie Snyder-Watson, and shared a home in Star – just northwest of Boise – with his son from a previous marriage.