Former Olympia mayor dies

OLYMPIA - Former two-term Olympia mayor Dave Skramstad, who turned from careers in the military, politics and business to a retirement passion for mystery writing, has died.

Skramstad died Monday in Arizona of heart failure, his family said.

Skramstad, 74, served as the capital city's first mayor under a council-manager system adopted in 1982. Although a conservative, he worked well with the liberal council to revitalize the downtown and create some of Olympia's favorite amenities, including the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, the farmers' market, and a boardwalk along Budd Inlet. He served a second term in the early 1990s.

The mayor, who loved to wear cowboy boots with his suits, was a 20-year military veteran, worked for the Chamber of Commerce and later owned his own business development company and was an executive of U.S. Intelco Network.

He later moved to Montana and eventually retired in Tucson, where he wrote mysteries featuring a western sheriff.