Hundreds of mourners filled a Raleigh church to remember Sen. Vern Malone.
In a two-hour service, speakers praised the polite statesman, the fiery advocate who fought for a school merger and the teacher who worked with blind students.
Gov. Beverly Perdue noted that Malone died after mowing the lawn and reading a newspaper that he often criticized.
"The thing that makes me just guffaw," Perdue said, "St. Peter reached out and grabbed Vernon's hand, and the last thing he saw was The News & Observer."
Malone joined the Raleigh School Board in 1972 when whites were fleeing the suburbs. He helped merge with the Wake County school board during a period of racial divide, then spent 20 years as a county commissioner.
He spent four terms in the state Senate. (N&O)
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Re: Mourners remember Sen. Malone
Guffaw? I've never heard anyone say guffaw before. I guess I guffawed when I heard the word choice.