Former state delegate Alson "Al" Smith, Jr. has died at a Winchester nursing home. He was 80.

His son, Alson "Skip" Smith III, said his father died early Sunday after a "gastric disturbance." The former lawmaker had a serious brain hemorrhage in 2004 that affected his motor skills.

The Frederick County native served in the Army from 1951 to 1953. When he returned to the Winchester area, Smith became a franchise holder for several Tastee-Freez restaurants in Virginia, West Virginia and parts of Pennsylvania, and a partner in the former Shenandoah Foods distribution business in Winchester.

The Democrat represented the Frederick County area in the Virginia House of Delegates for 20 years, from 1974 until he retired in 1994.

Former Winchester Senator Russ Potts, who worked with Smith, called him "a great fix-it guy" who "knew how to get things done."

Smith's funeral will be held Tuesday in Winchester. He is survived by his wife and his son. Another son, David Smith, died in 1999.