Linda Combs, who served NC and federal government in top financial management positions, dies

Linda Combs, a lifelong public servant who served as North Carolina controller after a series of high-profile federal jobs, died Thursday.

In a Facebook post, Combs’ husband Dave posted said she suffered an aneurysm Wednesday morning and died after midnight Thursday.

Combs served as the state controller from 2014 to 2022, during which time she was responsible for providing accounting, disbursing, payroll, internal control, data management, eCommerce and financial reporting systems that serve state agencies, employees and the public.

She was appointed to the position by former Gov. Pat McCrory after having served as controller of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, chief financial officer of agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as other executive positions in federal agencies. She had five presidential appointments confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and she served under three presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, according to State Controller Nels Roseland.

As controller, Combs routinely briefed the president on the status of financial management in federal departments. She frequently testified before congressional oversight committees and was responsible for establishing financial management policies and requirements for the executive branch of the federal government, totaling $2.7 trillion in revenue, according to Roseland.

“Her outstanding leadership touched every employee and benefited every North Carolinian," Roseland said in a statement. “She was a remarkable person and will be truly missed.”

Before her retirement, she was involved in the three-decade-old lawsuit over school funding known as “Leandro.”

The late-Superior Court Judge W. David Lee has ordered state executives, including Combs, to transfer $1.75 billion from state surplus funds to education agencies to make improvements to education in the state. Combs filed a petition to allow her to not transfer the funds. She argued she could not legally do so or would be in violation of state law that says state lawmakers are the ultimate decision-makers when it comes to the state budget. Her successor, Roseland, took the same stance. In November 2022, the state Supreme Court ruled the state's constitution required the fund transfer, but the case is expected to be heard again by the Supreme Court at a later date.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell said she "advocated for the invisible" while serving on the Winston-Salem/Forsyth Board of Education, as an education advisor to Gov. James Martin, and through administrative and board positions at Appalachian State University Foundation, Wake Forest University and Gardner-Webb University.

“During tense and volatile times Dr. Combs was the calm one in the room,” Folwell said in a statement. “I mourn her loss not only as a professional but as a fellow Winstonian.”