Democrats in mourning

California Democrats lost one of their most venerable leaders last week with the passing of Doris Smith at age 92.

Smith, an Oroville resident who was battling cancer, died Feb. 2. She served as chairwoman of the Butte County Democratic Central Committee from 1993 to 2008, when she was succeeded by Justin Meyers.

Mother to a son, Richard Smith, with her late husband, she also was a foster mother to more than 20 children. “We all lost a wonderful person,” Butte County Supervisor Jane Dolan noted in an e-mail from the Chico Democrats memorializing Smith.

Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, wrote on the Party Line blog, “She will be missed, but her work for Democrats and society as a whole will long be remembered.”

Smith was laid to rest after a memorial service Friday afternoon (Feb. 6) in Oroville.