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GREENSBORO — Horace Kornegay, a former congressman from Greensboro who became a leading spokesman for the tobacco industry, died Wednesday. He was 84.

Friends and family remember him as an avid outdoorsman who loved to sail and as a courteous man who dealt kindly with all those he met.

"He treated the person who ran the elevators at the Capitol building the same way he treated the president. That's just the way he was," said Jack Cozort, Kornegay's son-in-law.

Born in Asheville, Kornegay attended public schools in Greensboro and began his studies at Wake Forest College in 1941. He left during his sophomore year to enlist in the Army. He fought in World War II, serving in the 100th Infantry Division in Europe.

"He never talked much about his time in the war and being over there until recently, until after the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion," Cozort said. Kornegay was wounded at least once in battle but returned to duty and helped keep the peace in Germany after the war ended.

After the war, Kornegay returned to school and earned his bachelor's and law degrees from Wake Forest. He passed the bar in 1949.

During an oral history interview posted on UNC's Web site, Kornegay said he became interested in politics while in college and helped manage a sheriff's election the year after he graduated. He served as the elected solicitor — what is now called district attorney — for Guilford and Davidson counties from 1954 to 1960. In 1960, he was elected to Congress.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble recalls that he sponsored Kornegay's appearance at UNC-Chapel Hill during Kornegay's primary in 1960. Kornegay asked Coble to work for his campaign. Coble said he was tempted. But Coble, a Republican, declined because it would have required him to promise to vote a straight Democratic ticket.

"I told him, 'I can't change because I don't want to take that oath,'" Coble said. "We became good friends as a result of that."

Coble spoke on the House floor to notify members of Kornegay's death Wednesday, and the chamber observed a moment of silence.

During his time in Congress, Kornegay told interviewers years later, his obligations to constituents and to his growing family conflicted with one another, leading to what some said was an unusual decision to give up his seat.

"Because (for) most of the people there's only two ways they get out of Congress ... and both of them involved boxes: the ballot box or the pine box," Kornegay related in a recording available from UNC, his deep drawl rising to meet the punch line of his story.

When he left Congress, Kornegay joined the Tobacco Institute, a lobbying group that tried to hold back the tide of product regulation and restrictions on advertising. He worked with the group from 1969 until 1986, serving for more than a decade as its leader.

Court records and other documents from the time show Kornegay was a vigorous advocate for tobacco companies, at times taking stands that seem to modern eyes out of step with science and common wisdom.

He is quoted in a 1971 interview, for example, debating the adverse health effects smoking might have on pregnant women and the unborn.

"We just don't know, and only further research on smoking and all the other possible factors that may affect pregnancy will answer the question," Kornegay said at the time.

Friends say it's important to remember that times were different and that there was an ongoing debate about the risks of smoking.

"His job was to promote the industry and make sure the debate included a hearing of both sides," Cozort said.

The Tobacco Institute no longer exists. It was closed in 1998 as part of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

In 1986, Kornegay returned to Greensboro to practice law.

Among his passions was sailing a small boat named the Yogi. He was among the flotillas that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor and another in the 1980s that celebrated the founding of the colonies in North Carolina.

Kornegay was active in the Guilford County and state bar associations and was an active supporter of the Boy Scouts.

"He was a real gentleman in every respect," said Guilford County Public Defender Wally Harrelson. "He was a man of the highest integrity. Nowadays, we use that word rather loosely. But it's a word that certainly describes Horace Kornegay."

A service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at West Market Street United Methodist Church.

Staff writer John Newsom contributed to this report.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com