Former West Virginia Governor Dies

{Beckley, West Virginia}...West Virginia's 27th Governor Hulett Smith, who was in office from 1965 to 1969, died under the care of Hospice in Scottsdale, Arizona Sunday at the age of 93. Smith, who moved to Arizona last fall, was born on October 21, 1918, served as Beckley mayor, state senator, U.S. Congressman and chairman of the state Democratic Party. Smith, a Democrat from Beckley, defeated former Republican Governor Cecil Underwood in the 1964 election. Smith followed the administration of Governor Wally Barron, who was later indicted and went to prison. Smith also served as the state's first commerce commissioner. He signed the bill abolishing the death penalty in West Virginia, was a fighter against unregulated surface mining and was very big on human rights. Smith's first wife, Mary Alice, died in 1987, and his second wife, Nancy Pat Lewis of Beckley, died in 2009. Melton Mortuary in Beckley is handling arrangements.