Former Del. Bob Dobyns, D-Pulaski County, passed away on New Year’s Day. He was 85.

First elected to the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors, Dobyns was elected to the House of Delegates in 1982 and served seven years. (It’s an odd number, rather than the usual even number, because the House had to hold elections three years in a row in the early ’80s due to redistricting problems.) Dobyns served at a time when Democrats still held a majority in the House — and rural Democrats were still very much the norm, especially in this part of the state.

Now, of course, there are hardly any rural Democrats left, and Republicans hold a commanding edge in the House.

You can read the obituary on Dobyns here.