CHARLOTTE. N.C. -- Former North Carolina state Rep. John McLaughlin has died at the age of 82.

McLaughlin died Sunday. A General Assembly official says McLaughlin had been receiving hospice care.

The Mecklenburg County Democrat served in the House from 1985 through 1996. His power in the chamber grew when he was one of 20 Democrats who voted to oust longtime Speaker Liston Ramsey in 1989. He was a big supporter of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reports he served on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board before entering the Legislature.

Outside of politics, McLaughlin ran the post office in the Charlotte crossroads of Newell for 30 years.

McLaughlin's funeral will be Thursday morning at Back Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.