Bill Doyle, Vermont’s longest-serving senator, whose civic engagement was felt far beyond the borders of his Washington County district, died last week in a nursing facility in Northfield. He was 98 years old.

Doyle served in the Senate from 1969 to 2017. The affable political scientist was perhaps best known across the state for his long-running Town Meeting Day poll known as the “Doyle Poll.” The non-scientific survey reached thousands of Vermonters annually and regularly influenced Doyle’s own votes on hot-button issues.

Back in Washington County, Doyle, a Republican, earned a reputation as a tireless but always honest campaigner. If he could help it, he never missed a single town hall meeting in his central Vermont district, recalled Senator Ann Cummings (D-Washington), who served alongside Doyle in the Senate for two decades.

“He was legendary for being able to make three chicken pies in one night,” Cummings said in an interview Tuesday, adding that Doyle was “the most active senator I’ve ever seen in terms of interacting with the public.”

Republican Governor Phil Scott, who represented Washington County in the Senate with Doyle, also made the same statement Tuesday, calling Doyle “an institution.”

“I couldn’t believe how many events he went to every day from morning until late at night,” the governor said. “He didn’t do it for fame or ego, he did it because he was a true public servant and wanted to stay connected with the people.”

In the Legislature, Doyle oversaw “hundreds” of lawmakers, Scott said. Doyle chaired the Senate Committee on Government Operations and served as Senate Minority Leader. He was also the panel’s “third member” and sat on a powerful body that allocates committee assignments, called the Committee on Committees.

Doyle was a staunch advocate of Vermont’s open primary system, Vermont Public reported in 2018. This allows people who are not officially registered with a particular political party to vote in that party’s primary. He also helped draft disclosure requirements for lobbyist spending.

After being re-elected 23 times, Doyle narrowly lost his seat in 2016.

During legislative committee hearings, Doyle was “always a true gentleman,” recalled former Republican Senator Vince Illuzzi, who now serves as Essex County prosecutor and was a close friend of Doyle’s. “He always treated witnesses who entered the Statehouse with the utmost compassion and courtesy.”

Cummings recalled that Doyle regularly showed up at the Statehouse – early in the morning – with his students from Johnson State College, where he taught political science for six decades. According to his obituary, his courses inspired more than 60 of his students to run for public office, half of whom were elected and served in leadership positions in state government.

Among these alumni is Rep. Dan Noyes (D-Wolcott), who attended Johnson State, now part of Vermont State University, in the 1980s and 1990s.

Learning from Doyle “definitely sparked my interest in politics and in our state government and in serving the community,” Noyes said in an interview Tuesday. “He definitely left a lasting impression on his students.”

Doyle began teaching at Johnson State after earning a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University and master’s and doctorate degrees in education from Columbia University. He was born in New York City in 1926 and grew up, according to his obituary, in the coastal district of Sea Girt in New Jersey, where he “rode the waves and played softball on the beach.”

In Montpelier and the surrounding area, where he moved in 1959, Doyle worked as a youth sports coach, wrote weekly newspaper columns, and hosted a public affairs talk show on local television.

In 1984, he published a chronicle of state politics entitled Vermont’s Political Tradition: And Those Who Contributed to It, and wrote updated editions of the book after its publication.

In the capital, Doyle was also known for his “legendary” dinners at Sarducci’s, the city’s decades-old pizza and pasta restaurant, recalled Washington Senator Cummings.

“All the servers at his favorite restaurant, Sarducci’s, knew to add extra onions to his order,” his obituary said, adding that Doyle had a “hearty appetite” and “enjoyed turkey legs, ice cream, corn on the cob and fried yellow onions.” VTDigger described Doyle’s “uncanny ability to find buffets at political events at home and abroad” in 2017.

In a statement Tuesday, Montpelier Mayor Jack McCullough said the longtime senator’s death would be felt throughout the city, calling Doyle’s community service “unprecedented.” The city flag was to be flown at half-staff in his honor.

“Everyone in Montpelier knew Bill Doyle,” McCullough said.