‘Man of integrity’: Stalwart North Carolina senator David Hoyle dies at 84.

When David “Dave” Hoyle Jr. reflects on his dad David Hoyle Sr., he fondly remembers his competitive flare.

During youth baseball, in their Dallas, North Carolina hometown, his father was a no nonsense Little League coach — and losing was never a thought.

“He took it as serious as the kids did,” Dave Hoyle said. “He didn’t like losing in anything.”

And David Hoyle rarely did, his son said. It was a competitive streak that led to a long career in the state legislature. David Hoyle served as state senator from 1992 to 2010. He swam against political tides as a Democrat in Republican-dominated Gaston County.

David Hoyle died March 29 at his home in Dallas. He was 84.

His legacy in the state legislature was far reaching, his friends say. To his children he was “just dad.”

“He was always the same person,” Hoyle’s son said.

A Gaston County native, Hoyle graduated in 1960 from what is now called Lenoir-Rhyne University. Seven years later, he became the youngest mayor of Dallas at 27, which launched his political career.

A real estate investor by trade, he served on the North Carolina Board of Transportation. Hoyle also served nine terms in the Senate, where he was a longtime co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as reported by The Associated Press.

But throughout his star-studded career he never forgot his hometown Dallas or the friends he grew up with.

“I’ve heard him say many times he had cotton in his hair and tar on his heels,” Dave Hoyle said. “He just loved this area.”

Hoyle instilled a deep sense of integrity in the family, Dave Hoyle said. If he said he would do something, he did it — expected the same from others.

What really shined through was his love for people, Hoyle’s son said. When he worked in the legislature, he wanted to know how a piece of a legislation may harm someone.

Hoyle always cared for the underdog and talked regularly to friends he had known for over 70 years, friends say.

“He was dynamic,” said Mike Sumner, a longtime friend. “People very much wanted to be around him.”

Sumner said the senator always pushed to help his constituents in the Gaston, Cleveland and Lincoln counties. He was passionate about education and economic development. He worked across the aisle in Raleigh to ensure things got done.

Everybody had a David Hoyle story on how he helped them, Sumner said. He described Hoyle as a consensus builder that found it more important to build bridges than raise walls.

“My mother always told me do not let the sun set with anyone having hard feelings against me,” David Hoyle told the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry in 2002. “She said even if you’re wrong, don’t go to sleep without at least trying to mend fences.”

“A man of integrity.”

Sumner, who helped run Hoyle’s campaigns, said the legislator always stayed away from mud slinging. It was a trait defined by his wife, according to Hoyle’s son. If he was going to win an election it would be on his own merit.

Sumner said early in the senator’s career, they once found damaging information on a political opponent. Hoyle had already been on the receiving end of attacks himself. Sumner and the campaign started to create a TV ad with the information when Hoyle told him: “Don’t run it.”

“He said ‘I want to win because I’ll do a better job and they know me,’ ” Sumner said.

Hoyle ultimately won the election, Sumner said. It was a valuable lesson that politicians can win on their own merit.

Sumner said they once held a large political rally in Cherryville. When it was time for Hoyle to speak, he disappeared. Instead, he was on the phone with one of his grandchildren, Sumner said.

“His family was where he gained all his strength – from his wife, his children and grandchildren,” he said.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who served briefly with Hoyle in the senate, said the senator brought to the legislature his business experience and compassion for the people. Cooper said his warmth and wit made him a strong senator, mayor and friend.

“North Carolina is a better place for his work,” he said in a tweet.

Jesse Caldwell III, a former Gaston County Superior Court judge, said he will always remember Hoyle’s calls and well wishes on Christmas Eve.

He had a gift of making everyone feel they were his best friend. But more importantly he got things done for his community, Caldwell said.

He was the driving force that created Highway 321. The segment from Gaston County to Catawba County is named for him.

“He was a master of taking care of constituents’ problems,” Caldwell said.

Hoyle remained a Democrat in Gaston County despite efforts from others to see him switch parties, he added.

“He was a man of integrity,” Caldwell said.

Loyalty and honesty

Kim Price, a banker and longtime friend of Hoyle’s said one of his many talents was his conflict resolution skills. Whether in business or politics, Hoyle could discern “deal killers.”

“He would set them aside, move through it and then bring it up at the end,” Price said. “Then he’d say ‘We don’t want to let this stand in the way of progress.’”

Hoyle was great at old school politics back when people got together to find common ground, Price said. He once overheard a conversation between the senator and billionaire David Murdock, who proposed building a Dole foods facility in North Carolina.

“David said ‘I have the perfect spot for you in Gaston County,’ ” Price said. “David was working for the people, he was working for the state and it all happened.”

Dole Foods ultimately opened as a vegetable processing plant in Gaston County, Price said. It helped bring in hundreds of new jobs and a new tax revenue base to Gaston County.

A celebration of life service took place Monday at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Dallas. David Hoyle is survived by his wife Linda, daughter Lonnia Beam and son Dave, his grandchildren and great grandchildren.