Obituaries

Palm Desert Memorial Services Announced for Ret. Sheriff Larry D. Smith

The service will be held next week at at Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church.

Riverside County's current sheriff announced Tuesday that memorial services have been scheduled for former Sheriff Larry D. Smith.

The latter, whose name is on the county's largest jailing facility here in Banning, died Friday at his home in La Quinta.  He was 68.

"Memorial Service is SCHEDULED for Larry D. Smith, Riverside County Sheriff 1994 - 2002, on Saturday, May 4th, 11 a.m. at Palm Desert Community Presbyterian Church, 47-321 Highway 74, Palm Desert, CA 92260," Sheriff Stan Sniff posted on Facebook Tuesday morning.

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Sheriff Smith worked for the law enforcement agency 36 prior to his retirement in 2002.

"Larry stayed very close with the Department after Sheriff Stan Sniff took office in 2007, and Sheriff Sniff spent time with Larry and his family in La Quinta over these last few weeks as his health conditions worsened," it was posted on Sniff's Facebook page.

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Smith was the 11th of the 13 men to serve as sheriff in the department’s
120-year history. Smith had presided over a department that currently has 3,000 deputies and polices 17 cities, in addition to 300 square miles of unincorporated areas.

Smith suffered from heart problems and had recently battled bladder cancer and pneumonia, according to the Press-Enterprise.

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