RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A North Carolina political strategist was killed over the weekend in a boating accident off the coast, friends said.

Conen Morgan, the president of Longleaf Agency and a North Carolina State University graduate, was eulogized and praised on social media by elected leaders ranging from Gov. Roy Cooper to state Rep. Robert Reives, the House Democratic leader.

The governor posted on Twitter that Morgan’s “hard work and determination made a real, positive difference for people of North Carolina.”

“His loss is a tragedy and we send our deepest sympathy to his family and friends,” Cooper said.

Among the officials whose campaigns were cited as clients of Morgan’s firm: U.S. Reps. Alma Adams and Valerie Foushee and Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal.

Nate Toering of the National Park Service reported the death of a man in his 40s Sunday, saying a wave ejected three boaters from their watercraft in the ocean south of Shackleford Banks.

All three returned to the beach, but the man collapsed around the wave line, he said.

The other passengers performed CPR on him and dialed 911 at 4:47 p.m., with park rangers reaching the site within 15 minutes and paramedics from the fire departments from Harkers Island and Beaufort taking over after that, Toering said.

Toering did not identify any of the boaters involved. He says National Park Service rangers are handling the investigation in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and N.C. Wildlife.

Morgan was 42 years old.