For 67 consecutive years, a Hoyle has sat on the board of directors at Methuen Co-operative Bank.

Frederic Hoyle, a local pharmacist who served 28 years and 10 months on the board, was succeeded in 1987 by his son, Ted, a local police officer, who went on to demonstrate his own longevity — 39 years of service to the board.

Ted Hoyle, now 75, doesn’t remember who exactly invited him to take his father’s place or how the transition was arranged, but he does remember that he loved serving the bank in his role as a director.

“It was quite an honor to be taking his place,” said Hoyle who recently “aged out” – he reached the mandatory time to step down – from his longtime role.

The senior Hoyle, who operated Hoyle’s Pharmacy, which featured a soda fountain, on Lowell Street, did business with the bank and was probably invited to join its board because he was a local businessman, Ted said.

Ted, who has two sisters, said his mother Irene worked at the pharmacy with his father. The senior Hoyle, who was a medic in the U.S. Army and participated in the Normandy Invasion, passed away in 2001.

When Ted replaced his father in his director’s chair, Ted said, he gave him some advice.

“He told me when I went on the board, ‘Be very careful with the decisions you make. You’re dealing with someone else’s money,’ ” he recalled.

Ted said he was able to bank $15,000 from mowing lawns when he was a teenager. When he married his wife Sharon, a certified public accountant, she wanted a house, not a wedding, he said. They put money down on a ranch-style house in Andover that they purchased for $57,000.

Hoyle, who studied criminal justice at Northeastern University, worked approximately 30 years for the Methuen Police Department. He retired at the rank of lieutenant, having spent the last seven years supervising the Detective Division.

Previously, he served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He and Sharon now live in New Hampshire’s White Mountains.
Hoyle was re-elected to the bank board several times. The directors, he said, met once a month. He recalled listening to some very savvy business people who he served with at the meetings.

“You oversee the operations of the bank. You look over the records, the balance sheet,” he recalled. “You watch the business going on, make decisions where they might want to be with different investment situations. Talk it over and vote on it.”

“Anything is a challenge. It’s rewarding to get through a challenge,” he added. “Let’s face it – interest rates changing, financial issues all the time in banking. Banking is a lot of risk. Every move you make is risky.”

Methuen Co-operative Bank, a state-chartered mutual bank, was founded in 1923.

President and CEO Robert Armano provided this statement following Ted’s departure from the board: “We are grateful to the Hoyle Family for their combined 67 years of service to Methuen Co-operative Bank. Both Father and Son played an integral role in strategically directing the Bank to better serve its customers and community. Also, their service to our Country displays their level of character and selflessness. Our best goes to Teddy and his wife Sharon in their retirement.”