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Friends, Family Say A Final Goodbye To Howard Coble

An honor guard watches over former Rep. Howard Coble's flag-draped casket at Westover Baptist Church Tuesday. Coble's famous Madras jacket is wrapped around the vase on the stage above him. (Credit: Sean Bueter/WFDD News)

Hundreds of friends, family, and well-wishers gathered in Greensboro Tuesday to say goodbye to longtime 6th District Congressman Howard Coble.

Coble died last week at 84.

Westover Baptist Church rang out with song, laughter, and a few tears at the public service celebrating Coble.

The congressman served the Greensboro area for three decades, and politics aside, everyone on stage agreed that Coble was genuine, funny, and truly dedicated to public service.

Governor Pat McCrory says Coble was a close mentor, a great representative, and a good man.

“He appealed to everybody. He talked eye-to-eye with everybody no matter where they came from or what they did,” McCrory said. “North Carolina is going to miss him because he was a friend to everybody. He wasn't just our congressman. He was our friend.”

In his eulogy, McCrory proclaimed November 10th to be “Howard Coble Day”.

The governor said the proclamation recognized Coble's unique fashion sense (he was known for a special Madras jacket, for example), his knowledge of high school mascots, and what he called Coble's “genuine heart, soul, and spirit.”

Coble was buried later Tuesday at a private ceremony open only to family.

Sean Bueter joined WFDD in August 2015 as a reporter covering issues across the Piedmont Triad and beyond.Previously, Sean was a reporter, host and news director at WBOI in Fort Wayne, Ind., just a few hours from where he grew up. He also sorted Steve Inskeep's mail as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.Sean has experience on a variety of beats, including race, wealth and poverty, economic development, and more. His work has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and APM's Marketplace.In his spare time, Sean plays tennis (reasonably well), golf (reasonably poorly), and scours local haunts for pinball machines to conquer.

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