Timothy Keith Hoyt
May 11, 1950 ~ April 19, 2024
Timothy Keith Hoyt, 73, of Overbrook, Kansas, a former journalist known for his kind and gentle nature, died Friday, April 19, 2024 at home, with his wife by his side.
He was born May 11, 1950, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Robert G. and Bernadette (Lyon) Hoyt, and grew up on East 58th St. there. He worked various jobs, from Starlight Theater to Yellow Cab to riverboat deckhand, after graduating from Rockhurst High School, Class of 1968. He continued his education at UMKC, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in English.
On April 14, 2007, Tim married Dorothy A. Crowl in Lawrence, Kansas, and they enjoyed 17 happy, loving years together.
Tim was a journalist for The Cass County Democrat-Missourian, The Hutchinson News, The Kansas City Star, and the Lawrence Journal-World, specializing in human interest and covering wide swaths of territory. He won journalism awards, including Best Investigative Story from the Missouri Press Association in 1989 and Best Feature Story from the same group in 1990.
He later began working as a writer for the Department of Social Services and Public Information for the State of Kansas, where he enjoyed helping advocate for people in need. In that capacity he won two Bronze Quill Awards, both in 1997, from the International Association of Business Communicators, for a booklet titled “Family Preservation, No Miracles: Hard Work and Healing,” and another, “Long-Term Care: The Meaning of Choice.”
Tim loved the outdoors—walking his dog and cutting wood. He had a warm smile and a wry sense of humor. He was an animal lover of all creatures great and small. And he was a major sports fan, especially of his beloved Kansas City Royals, whose games he rarely missed on TV or radio. Tim was independent and generous. In 2001, at age 51, he donated a kidney to his mother, giving her several more years of healthy life.
He was preceded in death by both his parents, Robert G. and Bernadette (Lyon) Hoyt; a sister, Mary Jo Hoyt of Kansas City, Missouri; and a brother, James W. Hoyt, of Bogota, New Jersey.
Tim is survived by his wife, Dorothy Hoyt, at home; two stepsons, Dennis L. Crowl and Donald R. Crowl, both of Kansas City, Missouri; a brother, Michael J. Hoyt and his wife, Mary Ellen Schoonmaker, of Simsbury, Connecticut; sisters Mary Teresa Durkin and her husband, Patrick, of Chicago, Illinois, and Anne Hoyt and her husband, Art Scavone, of New York City; a stepsister Sarah Hoyt, of upstate New York and a stepmother, Mig Boyle of New York City as well as many nieces, nephews and grand nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be graveside at 10:00 a.m., Friday, May 3, 2024 at Clinton Cemetery, Douglas County, Kansas. Memorial contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurses of Douglas County (Kansasvna.org) and sent c/o Lamb-Roberts-Price Funeral Home, P.O. Box 268, Overbrook, KS 66524. Condolences may be sent to the family through www.lamb-roberts.com.
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