N.C.'s top lobbyist dies of cancer

Rocky Mount, N.C. — One of North Carolina's most influential lobbyists and a former state legislator passed away from cancer at his Rocky Mount home early Sunday.

Roger Bone died around 5:45 a.m. at the home he shared with his wife and son, fellow lobbyist Theresa Kostrzewa said.

Bone was diagnosed with biliary cancer last spring. The disease was incurable and inoperable, Kostrzewa said. He underwent eight months of chemotherapy.

Bone operated a Raleigh-based lobbying firm, Bone and Associates, and was ranked as the state's most influential lobbyist in 2007-2008 by the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research. The center ranked him among the state's four top lobbyists for 16 straight years.

The Nash County native served in the state House of Representatives from 1979 to 1981. He received a bachelor's in agricultural business from North Carolina State University in 1961 and worked for the Flu-Cured Tobacco Stabilization from 1961 to 1968.