Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Several thousand family, friends and well-wishers turned out Monday to say goodbye to Doug Skaff Jr.
At the West Virginia Capitol Complex in Charleston, the line snaked around two sides of the Culture Center and back onto itself with people waiting for hours to visit with Skaff’s family.
Skaff, 48, of South Charleston, a former state delegate and the president of HD Media — which publishes the Charleston Gazette-Mail — died June 10 in a vehicle crash in Lewis County.
As she stepped out of Monday evening’s humidity and light rain and waited in the air-conditioned atrium of the Culture Center, Valerie Taylor of Dunbar said she’ll miss much about Skaff.
“His kind spirit,” said Taylor, who said she and her husband, Tim — who also attended Monday — campaigned for Skaff when he ran for the House of Delegates and Secretary of State’s Office. “And his giving heart. He was a loving father and friend.”
Nearby, Eric Arnold saw Skaff as a superhero.
“Doug … gave so much to WVU,” said Arnold, president of the WVU Alumni Association of Greater Kanawha. “He didn’t think he was Superman, even though a lot of us thought he was.”
Many notable West Virginians turned out Monday, including Bob Huggins.
“It’s rough,” said Huggins, the former WVU men’s basketball coach. “We ran around together in college. [He was] just one of the great guys of all time. He was such a good person to everybody.”
Skaff will be buried at Sunset Memorial Park in South Charleston in a private service on Tuesday.
