Donald E. Hoyt, 69, of Apopka, Florida, passed away October 16, 2016. Mr. Hoyt was born June 19, 1947 in Michigan. He was an Electrical Engineer. Mr. Hoyt is survived by his loving wife Charlene Hoyt of Apopka; son Matt (Jamie) Hoyt of Umatilla; siblings Jim of VA, John of MI and Judy of AZ; 2 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lake Sherwood Presbyterian Church, 8200 Balboa Dr, Orlando, FL 32818.
Don was born in Michigan in 1947 and froze until 1981 when we moved to Florida! Don's mom once told me that when her first baby was a toddler her doctor said, "You don't want to raise this baby alone!" So, God smiled and soon she was expecting again — six days prior to delivery, her doctor ordered an x-ray and there was not one baby, but two! John was born first, Baby A, Don 2nd, Baby B. When John would say he was the first and eldest, Don liked to say that he had kicked him out! Five years later, a little girl, Judy joined the family circus. Pauline loved to tell the story about the boys wanting to take the new baby out for ice cream as soon as she came home! So, school days, holidays, families with their grandparents at their Ohio farm, playing with lots of cousins (Aunt Betty Hoyt was Catholic!) Boy Scouts, band, baseball, football, track (aw heck I think they played with anything that bounced). The Irish Hills – Wamplers Lake, good times with classmates. Clinton was a small town with all of the trails therein, but it had a movie theatre and a drug store with a counter and stools — more ice cream! That's all a kid needs, right? The family attended the United Church of Christ. I still have the small wooden cross that Don made in Sunday School. Don had a paper route, was a Sports editor of the town paper and worked in a science lab. The owner offered him a position there after high school, but he chose to go to DeVry Institute of Technology in Chicago for 2 years. He worked as a runner on the floor of Chicago Stock Exchange and on the line at the Checker Cab Company. He then transferred to Western Michigan University to earn his B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Subsequently, he earned an MBA, an M.A. in International Business and Ph.D. in Business. He also completed all of the coursework for a Ph.D. in Human Resources. When he began to talk about writing another dissertation, Charlene's size 12 foot came down – enough is enough! Back to younger years — He had several jobs after college including working on the Mercury Program at a Nuclear Reactor Plant at the University of Michigan (where he met Charlene). Then, his father was in poor health, so Don helped him in selling Eye Gate Media (Educational Materials) to schools through federal programs. Anyone remember filmstrips? Don and Charlene were married July 26, 1975 and had the great pleasure of seeing their son Matthew (a bicentennial baby born in 1976) marry the most wonderful girl in the world, Jamie Leigh, on their 40th anniversary in 2015. We now have two darling granddaughters, Lily and Maddie. So in 1976, with a baby on the way, Don began working at the General Motors Assembly plant at Willow Run in Ypsilanti, Michigan — yep, that's right the same plant that produced bomber after bomber during WWII. As an aside, Don's Acent Blanche was a bona fide Rosie the Riveter there! Don, however, was a testing supervisor in the testing of transmissions. He worked a long afternoon shift 6 or 7 days a week – not fun – but in 1981, God delivered us out of our own little Egypt and brought us to Orlando. A new job, day shift, a new church, St. Paul's Presbyterian, and a chance to live in a beautiful place with a better attitude toward the gift of "everyday life." This job brought advancement, worldwide travel (which he shared with Charlene) and an United States Army award for outstanding service during Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was a terrible blow to him when Lockheed terminated his employment in 2010. A trip to Israel at that time fulfilled a seemingly impossible dream trip to see Shoshanna, the mother of our dear friend Shlomoth Cohen. Sadly, she died only 2 weeks later. Definitely evidence of the Hand of God in our lives. Thereafter, Don worked in Texas for 2 years. Thankfully, he came home. While he tried several avenues to provide more income, nothing jelled. Perhaps, now we know why. He was a wonderful, patient father. Both of his sons admired him. Sadly, only one respected him. While all couples have their ups and downs, he was a good, faithful husband. I would rely on him for many things; perhaps too many. We have known the bitter reality of the deaths of many loved ones as age takes its toll, cross-country moves, a default on a major loan, severe, long illnesses and inexplicable betrayal of a son who was so loved, but chose to destroy himself. However none of this altered our commitment to each other and our concept of one family under God. The grace of God gave us faith, love, many, many blessed friends and the opportunity to see the leaves of the new generations. On the family tree, an upper middle class life, churches and pastors who have nurtured and inspired us. I thank God for the honor to have been Don's wife and the mother of his children. I praise God for giving us 41 years together to learn to love each other, our families, our friends, and most importantly, the Lord. Thank you for coming today.
God Bless you all. Charlene Hoyt and family