Ex-Arizona lawmaker remembered as dedicated public servant

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Daniel Peaches (Photo: Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President)

KAYENTA, Ariz. (AP) - Funeral services were held Friday for a former Arizona state representative from the Navajo Nation.

Daniel Peaches died Tuesday, the Navajo Nation Council said in a statement. Peaches’ son told The Associated Press that his father died from cancer. He was 82.

Peaches was elected to the state House in 1974 as a Republican and served five terms before he lost a bid for reelection in 1984, according to legislative records.

Peaches’ legislative service somewhat overlapped with employment in the tribal government under former Navajo Chairman Peter MacDonald. Peaches also served for decades on Northland Pioneer College’s governing board and was appointed by former President Richard Nixon as a member of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education.

Peaches held various other roles in tribal government and within his community of Kayenta.

His funeral services were held in nearby Black Mesa. He was remembered as a loving father, grandfather and husband, and as someone who was revered in his community as a medicine man and a public servant.