WASHINGTON, N.C. — Frank Bonner, a Beaufort County commissioner for 30 consecutive years and a former mayor of Aurora, has died. He was 76.

Bonner died Saturday after suffering from leukemia, fellow commissioners said.

The Democrat served on many boards and commissions, representing Beaufort County regionally and statewide. Bonner, a retired insurance agent, was mayor of Aurora for 10 years and a member of the town Board of Commissioners for eight years.

Bonner received the state's highest honor, the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, and in 1999 won an Outstanding County Commissioners Award from the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners.

Friends and colleagues on Sunday described Bonner as a knowledgeable commissioner who dedicated most of his life to public service.

Bonner was instrumental in securing funding for Beaufort County Schools and fostering a long-term relationship with the county and the phosphate-mining operations of the former Texas Gulf, now PCS Phosphate, said Democratic Commissioner David Moore.

"I thought that Frank was one of the most dedicated public officials that I have known," Moore said.

The executive committee of the Beaufort County Democratic Party will recommend a Democrat to serve out Bonner's term, which ends in December.

A funeral is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Washington. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery.