According to multiple sources, former NC House Representative and Lenoir County Chairman George Graham has passed away. Graham was born on February 16, 1949. He was 73.

Graham served as a member of the NC House from 2013 through 2018 and served the citizens of Lenoir County for over 30 years on the board of commissioners.

Ballotpedia.com notes that “Graham received a B.S. in elementary education from Fayetteville State University in 1971. He received an M.E. in adult and community college education from North Carolina State University in 1975. Before retirement, he was an administrative assistant, resource development officer, and director of adult basic education at Lenoir Community College. Graham also became a member of the Lenoir County Board of Commissioners in 1982.”

According to the Carolina Leadership Coalition, ”Graham was the second child born to George Washington Graham and Mattie Lee Kilpatrick in the Kinston-area. His father was a long-haul truck driver. Graham and his wife, Patricia, were married in 1973 and had two children, Brandi Graham and George Washington Graham III (sic). Soon thereafter, they were divorced. In 1988, Graham married Marilyn Jimmette.”

In 2012, Graham was first elected “by the Democratic Executive Committee of newly redistricted N.C. House District 12 to fill the ballot slot left open with the death of longtime N.C. Rep. William Wainwright," according to the New Bern Sun Journal.

In the October 21, 2012 article by the New Bern Sun Journal, Graham said, "I’ve always been interested in state government and have learned a lot by working in county government. County government and state government are so closely related I feel like it’s a natural progression for me to work at the state level to help accomplish some of the things we need to accomplish locally."

Please stay with Neuse News as we work to get input from other area leaders.