Elon, North Carolina|Thursday, January 26, 2017
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Longtime N.C. congressman dies at 84 

Coble died in Greensboro Tuesday night at the age of 84

Howard Coble, 84, died Nov. 3, 2015, in Greensboro after an extended hospital stay.

Coble’s brother, Ray Coble Jr., sent this statement to local media outlets Wednesday morning:

“J.Howard Coble passed away at 11:40 p.m., Nov. 3 after an extended hospitalization. The family wishes to thank Dr. Ali Hajazi and the staff of the Select Specialty Hospital in Greensboro for their excellent care. The community will be notified of funeral arrangements when complete.”

Coble was born March 18, 1931 in Greensboro. He attended Appalachian State University for a year before joining the Coast Guard. After earning a history degree from Guilford College, he earned a law degree at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Coble served as a practicing attorney for the next 20 years.

He was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1979. Five years later, he narrowly defeated Rep. Walter Cockerham. Coble represented the Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985-2015 in North Carolina’s 6th district.

Photo Courtesy University Communications

Photo Courtesy University Communications

During his 30 years in office, he served portions of Alamance County and left an impact within the Elon community. On Oct. 29, 2014, he spoke in the Whitley Auditorium about his history as a congressman.

Outside of politics, Coble enjoyed listening to bluegrass and country music and watching “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Key Largo.”

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About the author: Bryan Anderson

Bryan Anderson is a Media Analytics and Journalism double major from Burlingame, California and works as a multimedia journalist for Elon Local News. He has worked with several media outlets, including Prep2Prep, The Pendulum, and The Burlingame B. Follow him on Twitter @andersbrn.

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