MOUNT GILEAD, N.C. (AP) - NorthCarolina Gov. Roy Cooper and formerWhite House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles were among Wednesday’s speakers at a service remembering former Lt. Gov. Bob Jordan, who died earlier this week.
Family, friends and political cohorts of Jordan attended the service at West Montgomery High School in Mount Gilead, where Jordan lived and the family’s lumber business stood. A private graveside service was scheduled for later in the day.
Jordan, who died Sunday at age 87, served as lieutenant governor from 1985 through 1988 after eight years as a state senator. The Democrat lost to Republican Gov. Jim Martin in the 1988 gubernatorial election.
Martin and former Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue also attended the service.
Bowles, a former North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate, was president of the University of North Carolina system when Jordan served as head of the trustee board at N.C. State University.
Jordan, an N.C. State graduate, was known for his commitment to public education, the rural economy and the emerging biotechnology field. His time as lieutenant governor also focused on stronger daycare laws, affordable housing and land preservation, an obituary released from the funeral home organizing the service said.
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