Veteran North Carolina journalist Gene Price dies at 90

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GOLDSBORO, N.C.

Hillery Eugene "Gene" Price, an honored journalist whose career spanned nearly six decades, died Wednesday. He was 90.

Sue Price Johnson, his daughter and former Associated Press staffer, said her father died at a hospice in Raleigh after a long illness.

Gene Price became editor emeritus at the Goldsboro News-Argus after a nearly 50-year career during which he served as managing editor as well as editor.

Prior to his work in Goldsboro, Price worked at The Independent in his hometown of Elizabeth City, The Daily Reflector in Greenville and at The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk. While he was in college, Price became the first sports publicity writer for the East Carolina University news bureau, working for tuition and meals.

Price also worked as press secretary for U.S. Rep. Herbert C. Bonner in the late 1940s and was chief of an artillery firing battery with the 28th Infantry Division in Europe during the Korean War.

Five governors appointed him to major state commissions, among them the North Carolina Seashore Commission, which led to the creation of the Cape Lookout National Park in 1966.

His journalistic achievements were recognized in 2011 by his induction into the University of North Carolina's Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. Two governors awarded Price the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, awarded for exemplary service to the state of North Carolina and its communities.

In his retirement, Price wrote a book of his collected stories titled "Folks Around Here."

An avid outdoorsman, Price spent 25 years as a member of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, including two terms as its chairman.

Among the survivors is his wife of 68 years, Gloria MacCormack Price, as well as four children, and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Goldsboro.