Virginia Town Crier

His just-finished last project — for former state Sen. Fred Quayle was ever involved in making things for others — was to fix up the toy boat his dad made for him, to be passed on to a grandson.

Quayle, 82, died Saturday after a short illness.

While colleagues from his 20 years representing western Tidewater in the state Senate remembered a courtly manner, a low-pressure approach to getting his way and the muffled sound of his singing as they passed by his corner office, family and friends recalled a man who could turn his hand to anything.

“He was a real Renaissance man,” his son Tim said. “He was a maker.”

Quayle built, by his family’s count, six houses, including two of the ones where he and his wife Brenda raised their four children, a place on the beach and a place in the mountains. The couple had recently moved back to the Suffolk house where he grew up — and, of course, he fixed that place up, too.

He was fascinated by woodworking projects, including the rocking horses he made for his grandchildren and a quest for tips on carving decoys that lately took him all over the state. Quayle also enjoyed painting, particularly watercolors, playing the piano and singing.

His love of sailing made him an impassioned advocate for the Bay, and some of the legislative work he was most proud of focused on improving the waters of Virginia.

Quayle was elected to the state Senate in 1991 and served until 2012, when redistricting eliminated his district. He was a key member of the Finance Committee and chairman of the Local Government Committee.

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