DANVILLE — Mike Doyle, a Danville political superstar, died peacefully this month, leaving behind a legacy of more than a quarter century in public service and widespread community impact in his beloved town. He was 96.
Danville officials announced Doyle’s passing last week, noting he died on Oct. 19 surrounded by family at his Danville home.
Born in 1929 in Mahanoy City, Pa., Doyle was a U.S. Air Force veteran who joined in 1947 at 17-years-old and served as a chaplain’s assistant in Germany after World War II.
Doyle first moved to Pleasanton in 1954 when he was transferred to Parks Air Base. But on the way there, he stopped into Elliott’s, a downtown Danville watering hole that dates back to 1907, to ask for directions. Because he enjoyed the bar so much, it was there he decided he’d spend the rest of his life in the San Ramon Valley, according to his family.
He bought an acre of land in Danville a year later, built a home and worked as a private investigator after leaving the military. Many in his community remember that Doyle lovingly called the town his “Camelot,” where he lived with his wife, Joe Anne, and five children — Mick, Mary Anne, Terry, Celeste, and John, known as “Fitz.”
Doyle first joined the town council in 1991 and stuck around for 25 years, serving six terms as a councilman and five times as Danville mayor. He retired from the council in 2016. At the time, he said leaving his post was “one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever made” but “I figured 25 years was enough.”
“I will miss it, I will tell you that. No one loves Danville like I do,” he said in 2016.
The late former Danville Mayor Mike Doyle, a longtime Danville resident and local political superstar, is pictured in this courtesy photo. Doyle died on Oct. 19, 2025 at his residence in Danville. He was 96. (Courtesy/Town of Danville)
The former councilman was also known to get people involved locally in politics, including Danville’s current mayor, Renee Morgan. Morgan called Doyle “both a friend and a mentor.”
“He believed in me early on, encouraged me to serve on the planning commission, and later to run for town council, Morgan said. “His faith in others was one of his greatest gifts. He inspired people to get involved and make a difference.”
Morgan said he played an “integral role” in policies that preserved the town’s open spaces and bolstered Danville’s downtown “identity.” She remembers Doyle for his “authenticity,” regularly lending his time to connect with residents and local businesses, bringing with him an “approachable nature and his unmistakable presence at community gatherings, parades and local events,” she said. Doyle helped Danville remain “true to its roots” as a friendly and charming town, Morgan said.
In 2014, Doyle earned the prestigious Danville Award, which is the highest honor town officials can bestow upon a community member for representing the town’s “spirit of volunteerism and community,” Morgan added.
Upon Doyle’s retirement from office in 2016, Morgan gifted him a barstool from Elliott’s, inscribed with the words “da Mayor,” “so that he would always have a seat in the place where it all began.”
“Mike Doyle’s legacy will forever be part of Danville’s story — not only for his accomplishments, but for the heart, humor and integrity he brought to everything he did,” Morgan said. “Thank you, Mike, for your friendship, your leadership, and your deep love for Danville. You will always be remembered as part of the very fabric of this town.”
A memorial service is scheduled for Doyle on Friday, Nov. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Danville. A reception will be held immediately following the mass at the Veteran’s Memorial Building at 400 Hartz Ave. in downtown Danville.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Doyle’s honor to the Discovery Counseling Center.
