He was one of the most amazing people you'd ever meet, and that's simply the way to put it. And that's only partially because Willie York, who died Tuesday, was one of the people who built the Raleigh we know today and was as skilled a businessman as we have seen and shall see in these parts. That's true. What's also true is that well into his old age, Willie York's mind was a blade so sharp you felt like his could carve the turkey and yours could cut the butter.

In addition to being one of the smartest people I ever met, Mr. York -- who developed everything from shopping centers to hotels to apartments to industrial facilities -- was possessed of more than a single helping of common sense and compassion. He was also a man of uncommon candor. It was fascinating to talk to him about others of prominence or notoriety both positive and negative. He knew everybody, and did not hesitate, in private conversations at least, to tell you exactly what he thought.

He also didn't pull any punches when it came to standing up for people or for principles in which he believed. I remember some years back, when a move was afoot among some N.C. State University boosters to oust then-basketball coach Les Robinson, a man Mr. York (an NCSU alum) held in high esteem. That movement came to a sudden halt after Mr. York spoke up on Robinson's behalf. And due to the simple passage of time, many people have forgotten that Willie York, while a member of the Raleigh School Board, made the motion that integrated city schools, an act of gumption and courage in 1960.

Willie York was a straight shooter, in business, and in his personal dealings with friends. He had about him a refreshing lack of interest in indirect conversation or in people who were, in his view, phony. And though many of his acquaintances, as you might expect, were both wealthy and professionally and socially prominent, that wasn't exclusively so.

Many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people in Raleigh had their first jobs with a York company. (Your correspondent had, as a youth, an offer from a York construction company but was otherwise occupied for that summer, which is why many of the company's buildings are still standing.) Many others got a hand up in business -- a reference here, a job there -- thanks to a word from Willie York.

And he was a man of loyalties -- to the city he served in many capacities (from the airport authority to the initiation of projects like a farmers market), to his employees of several generations, to N.C. State University, where though he didn't hesitate to make his opinions known in controversies, he remained steadfast in his support. (One of our conversations of recent years concerned construction of the RBC Center; Mr. York felt early on that a renovation of Reynolds Coliseum might have been a better idea.) He had no use for those who wanted to run the university from the outside, through second-guessing of decisions or criticizing those who were employed to really be in charge.

That's one reason Mr. York enjoyed the admiration and the confidence of several NCSU chancellors, and one of the introductions new chancellors would get from insiders who knew the campus and knew this community was to Willie York. They'd go to Cameron Village (one of his many creations) and have a long chat. When he trusted you, Mr. York gave you a great gift -- his confidence in your ability to hear something from him, learn from it, and keep his counsel.

As a businessman, his greatest gift, beyond good instinct, may have been his ability to focus in on facts and figures with his remarkable power of concentration, a natural gift to be sure.

His closest friends will have a multitude of observations. As a friendly acquaintance, one of mine, just pulled from many, is the memory of his voice -- that young, vibrant voice that made you picture someone in his 30s or 40s. It was not a defining part of his personality, I suppose, though maybe it did reflect a mental energy that served him well throughout his life.

Willie York's legacy is all around us, in his developments, his brick and mortar, his role in shaping this city, certainly in building his alma mater. Mostly, though, it is in the individuals he touched in some way, be they engineers or builders or students or simply those who met him along the way and became his friends. No matter how long or how briefly one made his acquaintance, he was unforgettable.

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