Kenny Guinn, who served as governor of Nevada from 1999 to 2007, died Thursday after falling from the roof of his Las Vegas home, a spokesman said. He was 73.

Billy Vassiliadis, a political consultant serving as spokesman for the Guinn family, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal his friend was pronounced dead at University Medical Center shortly after 11 a.m. He said Guinn had been working on the roof and his wife, Dema, found him on the ground.

A native of Arkansas, Guinn came from a family that moved to California as migrant farm workers during the Dust Bowl. Former Gov. Robert List, a childhood friend of Guinn, said Guinn got his first experience of public affairs reading the newspaper to his illiterate father.

After moving to Nevada to work as a teacher, Guinn became superintendent of schools in Clark County, helping to fulfill a court desegregation order. In 1978, he began working in the financial services industry.

His run for governor in 1998 was his first bid for elective office. As governor, he infuriated many of his fellow Republicans by closing a budget gap with the largest tax hike in state history.

In addition to his wife, Guinn is survived by two sons.

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