Larry R. Brown
Larry R. Brown (February 9, 1943 – August 16, 2012) was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2004 after defeating Rep. Michael P. Decker in the Republican primary. Decker had spent most of his last term as a Democrat although he had been elected earlier as a Republican. Brown served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree from Central Wesleyan College (South Carolina), now known as Southern Wesleyan University. Brown then worked for the US Postal Service and later as a real estate  broker. Brown and his wife Martha were the parents of two children. Brown was criticized by a gay rights organization for using anti-gay slurs in an e-mail to fellow House members in 2010. Following redistricting, Brown was defeated for another term in the May 2012 Republican primary. He died later that year, while still in office.