Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered flags to fly half-staff to honor late civil rights leader Julian Bond on same day his family scatters his ashes.

Deal issued the order for Saturday at the state Capitol to honor Bond, who died Aug. 15 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at 75. His widow, Pamela Horowitz, said he had circulatory problems.

Bond was a civil rights trail-blazer who founded the Southern Poverty Law Center and held the top post at the NAACP.

Bond also served in the Georgia House of Representatives and state Senate for nearly 20 years.

Relatives of Bond plan to scatter his ashes in the Gulf of Mexico in a private ceremony Saturday. Relatives suggest that anyone wanting to honor Bond spread flower petals in water.