Charleston , Kanawha County , West Virginia

Former West Virginia Gov. Hulett C, Smith has died. He was 93.

Smith's family announced Monday that the former governor died Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz. He moved from Beckley to an assisted living facility in Arizona last fall.

The Democrat first ran for governor in 1960, but failed to win his party's nomination. Four years later he won the state's top job and served at a time when governors were limited to a single term.

During Smith's term as West Virginia's 27th governor, the Legislature enacted measures to control air and water pollution and to protect human rights. He signed the state's first strip mining law and the bill by which West Virginia abolished the death penalty.

Governor Earl Ray Tomblin said: " I got to know him much better after he was governor and the role he continued to play in WV and he was just, I thought, an outstanding man right up until the end there. It's just a real loss for our state. He contributed so much to WV and it's a sad day for WV to see the passing of Governor Smith. "

Former governor, now a U.S. Senator, Joe Manchin said:The Farmington mine disaster happened in 1968 and that's kind of really where I watched him, his compassion that he had and how he got involved. He was a special person, really a special person. "

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