Former governor remembered at funeral

MEBANE, N.C. — Former North Carolina Gov. Bob Scott's funeral was held Tuesday morning near his family farm in Alamance County, and Gov. Beverly Perdue and a delegation of former governors were in attendance.

The 79-year-old Scott died Friday after a period of declining health.

Perdue and former Govs. Mike Easley, Jim Hunt and Jim Holshouser attended the service, and two of Scott's grandsons delivered eulogies.

Scott served as governor from 1969 to 1973 and was state community college system president from 1983 to 1994. He was the son of Kerr Scott, a former governor and U.S. senator.

During his administration, Scott helped push through the first retail tax on cigarettes – the tobacco industry was a major part of the state economy at the time – to help finance the first public kindergartens in the state. He also appointed a commission to oversee the creation of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system.

Bob Scott arranged the funeral himself, saying he wanted people to celebrate his life and not mourn his death.