O
fficials in Kanawha County have released information regarding the visitation and funeral for local businessman and former state delegate Doug Skaff, Jr.
According to a post on the county commission’s Facebook page, a public visitation will take place on Monday, June 16, at the Culture Center, located at the State Capitol Complex. Family and friends will accept visitors from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“The family will welcome all who wish to honor Doug’s memory and celebrate his life,” commissioners wrote in the post.
A private funeral service and burial will take place the next day.
Skaff died in a wreck along Interstate 79 in Lewis County on Tuesday, June 10. He was 48 years old.
A longtime businessman, Skaff operated several local establishments and was president of HD Media, the parent company of the Charleston Gazette-Mail and other regional newspapers. He and a team of investors had recently purchased the longstanding Fazio’s restaurant in Charleston.
Skaff previously served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2008 to 2014, then again from 2018 to 2023. He was the Minority Leader of the West Virginia House of Delegates from November 2020 to August 2023.
In October 2023, Skaff switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, before running an unsuccessful bid for Secretary of State. He most recently began his campaign for the West Virginia State Senate in 2026.
Skaff’s untimely and tragic death came as a shock to many who knew him. After word of his passing, a plethora of condolences from multiple local, state and national officials began pouring in.
“I am heartbroken to hear about the passing of our friend Doug Skaff,” West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said in a statement. “Doug was a longtime state legislator, the Minority Leader of the West Virginia House of Delegates, and omnipresent in the Charleston community. He will be greatly missed by many.”
Skaff is remembered as “a devoted husband and father, proud son and brother, respected public servant, and passionate West Virginian.”
“Doug’s warmth, humor, and larger-than-life personality left a lasting impression on everyone he met,” his obituary reads. “Charleston and West Virginia are forever brighter because of him.”
Sakff leaves behind a wife and three children, all residents of South Charleston.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to St. George Orthodox Cathedral Foundation, West Virginia Kids Cancer Crusaders, Douglas J. Skaff, Jr. memorial scholarship fund or local charities that reflect Doug’s enduring mission to build a better West Virginia.
