Source: Carl Wilson, WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 9/27/19

Thomas Gilmore Sr. loved being a politician as much as he loved plants. And his roots in both ran deep. The former three-term member of the N.C. House of Representatives and operator of Gilmore Plant and Bulb died Tuesday at the age of 82. After graduating from N.C. State, where he met his wife Betty, he joined the family nursery business. But he quickly developed a passion for politics.

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