From the Newcastle Sun's news desk to the region's boardrooms, sporting fields and the university campus, there were few parts of Hunter life where Vic Levi's presence wasn't felt.
No challenge was too great for a man whose engaging personality was only matched by his considerable talents and passion for life.
Tributes flowed on Thursday for Mr Levi who died earlier this week following a short illness aged 87. His final days were spent at his Rocky Point Eleebana home of 65 years surrounded by wife Meg and sons Chris, Scott and Matt.
While Mr Levi's achievements throughout his life were many, friends and former colleagues primarily remembered a man of fierce loyalty who always wanted to bring out the best in others.
"I think the greatest thing he ever said to us boys was that I'll always be in your corner. No matter what happens, it can't be too bad or too good. I'll be the person always there for you," son Scott, an ABC Central Coast presenter, said of his father.
"He was always the wicket keeper for the family, always there when you needed him."
Mr Levi's distinguished career in Hunter journalism included reporting on historic moments in the region's history such as the 1955 Maitland Floods and the grounding of the Sygna on Stockton Beach in 1974.
By the mid-1970s he had amassed an unrivalled contact book, that combined with his ability to tell a great yarn, saw him take control of the Sun's news desk.
It was a time when fast and furious newsrooms were inhabited by a cast of larger than life characters.
They routinely turned out up to three afternoon editions in rapid fire. And the leader of the pack was Vic Levi.
It was in this crucible that newly minted cadet Leo Della Grotta encountered a man who would become his lifelong friend and mentor.
"He was a great news editor, but he was also pretty patient with us cadets." Mr Della Grotta recalled.
"There was never a dull moment. I loved going to work, we all did; We all would have taken a bullet to him."
Former Sun and Herald journalist Mike Scanlon was also among those to pay tribute.
"Vic's passing represents the end of an era in journalism really," he said.
"He was a great newspaperman with style and wit and a mentor to many young cadets. He was larger-than-life and much loved. It was a privilege to have known him."
Many of Mr Levi's recollections of those extraordinary years breaking the Hunter's biggest stories are contained in his 2008 book Hot metal, hot stories and cold cases : requiem for a newspaper.
Amidst the demands of work and raising a young family, Mr Levi also found time to undertake an arts degree at the University of Newcastle, where he studied literature, the classics and ancient ancient history at night.
The institution would later award him an honorary doctorate for his contribution to the university and the Hunter community.
After the Sun's closure in mid 1980, Mr Levi went on to become the Newcastle Herald's advertising manager, a role which also excelled at.
Julie Ainsworth, the Herald's general manger between 2002 and 2013, knew Mr Levi for 50 years.
"His appointment was very significant at the time because he was one of the first guys to come across from editorial into the commercial side of the business," she said.
"I have always said he was my mentor. He promoted me as a female in a very male-dominated industry. I had 17 different roles at the Herald and they were all supported by Vic."
"He was used to playing team sports and he always wanted us to work as a team."
Mr Levi used his considerable influence as advertising manager to help lobby for the inclusion of Newcastle into the Sydney rugby league competition.
He persuaded the Herald's management to underwrite the Herald Challenge Cup with a purse of $20,000 to attract the Sydney premiership winning teams to Newcastle in the 1986 and 87 preseasons.
"To get it across the line Dad said he would resign if the match wasn't a sell out. The stadium was packed and it proved that people would turn up to follow a team that brought together talent from across the city," Chris Levi said.
Mr Levi also managed the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Post prior to his retirement from newspapers in the early 1990s.
"When you look back over his career, not only did he excel in the editorial side of things, he took over as advertising manager and he was no slouch at that either," Mr Della Grotta, said.
"He had a big personality. He was an old school journo in a time where there were many big characters around and he shone with them all. He'd light up a room when he walked in."
Life after newspapers proved just as dynamic and influential within the region's charity, sporting and community sectors.
A particular focus of Mr Levi's energy in recent decades was organising the University of Newcastle's annual book fair.
Eldest son Chris, a stroke neurologist at Hunter New England Health, said his father's love of sport, particularly cricket, was the key to many of his accomplishments.
"A lot of the traits that he came to display in his professional life were forged in sport. He saw it as a training ground for leadership and contributing to the community," he said.
"He enjoyed success but he really understood the power of a team over an individual."
But Matt Levi, who lives in Melbourne, recalled his father's tenderness, which existed alongside the passion and drive that most people knew him for.
"He was what you'd call a marshmallow made on a welding machine," Mr Levi said.
"Dad was the kindest, most generous, toughest person you would ever meet. He was beautiful around his grandchildren and his great granddaughters."
Chris Levi said, like many others, he and his brothers had been profoundly influenced by their father's example.
"Without his influence and guidance I wouldn't be the person I am," Professor Levi said.
"The thing that really stood out with him was his really positive thinking and approach to life. For Dad, no challenge was ever too big; there was no obstacle that couldn't be navigated. He was also a very courageous guy. I think each of us have tried to embrace some of those characteristics."
