Alberta Gene Hoyt

SOUTH BEND, IN – Alberta “Gene” Hoyt, 93, passed away on December 21, 2018. Residing for the past five years at the Sanctuary at St. Paul’s, she previously resided in Clearwater, Florida and Noblesville, Indiana. She was married to Paul Hoyt, who preceded her in death on September 3, 2011, for 65 years.
She was a member of the Noblesville First Christian Church, a teacher’s aide and a girl scout leader. She loved to dance to big band music, play bridge and enjoy a glass of port wine.
She is survived by her daughters, Rebecca Hoyt Fischer (David Losh) of South Bend and Melinda George (Thom) of Boise, Idaho; four grandchildren, Jason Fischer (Kate) of South Bend, Cathy Taylor (Russell), of Spanaway, WA, Hannah Sharp (Mike) of Boise, ID, James George of Olympia, WA and four great grandchildren, Gentry Fischer, Dawsyn Fischer, Mia Sharp, and Emerson Sharp.
A memorial service will take place at a later date in Noblesville, IN.

Some thoughts from her children:

MY MOTHER

My mother was named for Gene Stratton Porter, a famous female Indiana author from the 1920’s. Like her mother Hannah, she loved to read and was a lifelong learner.

She was always cheerful and polite, even through 4 major surgeries in the past 5 years, a broken shoulder, broken ribs, a broken toe and numerous aches and pains. She always fought her way back to independence. In the past few years she had started to quote a poem (often to the nurses who took care of her) that I now find is attributable to Edgar Albert Guest, modified by mom as follows:

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But she with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but she would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till she’d tried.
So she buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On her face. If she worried she hid it.
She started to sing as she tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and she did it!

She wasn’t one to boast, but if someone gave her the opening, asking what her daughters did, she was delighted to tell them about her world traveling Microsoft executive daughter and her Notre Dame attorney daughter.

She had life-long friends in Noblesville, Ruth Fisher, Ruth Lanning, Betty Gerard, Thelma DeHart and Betty Williams, and in Clearwater, Florida, Doris McKinney and Gary & Kelly Shamley.

In the late 1990’s we purchased land and built a cabin next door to our farmhouse in North Liberty, Indiana that she and dad summered in for several years. Mom helped create and tended the massive kitchen garden every day while Dad drenched everything in Miracle Grow from a 50 gallon tank he pulled behind his garden tractor. After the volunteer fire department came when she burned a hamburger, she learned to grill outside.
Once, a drunken stranger came to our door in the middle of the night. I called the police. When she asked why I hadn’t called her next door, I asked her what she would have done if I had? She replied that she would have run in the dark through the orchard the 100 yards to the house to assist, which was why I didn’t call her.

She was member of a Home Economics club associated with 4-H for many years. She won a grand champion for matching outfits she had sewed for herself, my sister and I, a red and black checked print, dresses for us and a suit with jacket for her. I still have the dress. She also won a grand champion for floral design, and later worked at a flower shop.

I was a shy child so she became a Girl Scout leader for many years, outlasting many assistant leaders, so that I could meet friends and have a sense of belonging.

She was a volunteer at the First Christian Church, organizing the Hearts and Flowers luncheon in the spring and the fall bazaar. Dad helped by foraging for cornstalks to make scarecrows and other crafts.

She helped to organize and taught at a school for special needs children at a time when they had few options for education. She was later a beloved aide in the Noblesville Schools and the “lunch lady” that the children thought was a hundred years old because she had white hair even in her 50’s.

She and dad loved wine and we would drive to Paw Paw Michigan to the Warner Vineyard, bring home a few cases and have a picnic on the island park. They loved to have lunch at Tabor Hill Vineyard.

She was an open minded and egalitarian person who grew up in a time and place where racism was common. She once poured a glass of water on someone’s head for a remark that she did not find appropriate.

She was married and devoted to dad for 65 years. I don’t remember them ever fighting although once when he didn’t want her to drive the new car, she threw his dinner into the back yard. He handed over the keys and asked her if she wanted to take it for a spin. They knew how to compromise. When dad had passed and she moved to St. Pauls’ in South Bend near me, looking far younger than her 88 years, the gentlemen that tried to flirt with her received an emphatic, “I had the best, to hell with the rest.”
I will miss her every day.

-Rebecca

Memories of My Mom
My Mom was a woman of many talents. Her 93 years were full of love and laughter. What else can you ask for?

Adept at sewing and swimming, Mom taught me how to swim but that sewing thing never did take. Not her fault I can barely sew on a button. Swimming was much more fun than sewing anyway and we swam every single day in the summer at our neighbor Ruth’s pool with my best friend Patti, who was at our house so often that she called Mom “Mom” and was treated like the third daughter that she really is to this day. Ruth would often have parties where Mom and her friends (Ruth, Ruth, & Betty-what a feisty foursome they made) would bring food to share and then sip icy cocktails (Mom favored daiquiris) while the kids refused to leave their watery playground. I can still smell the chlorine. But we weren’t at Ruth’s pool every day in the summer because in August, we would go to Clearwater (yes-summer in Florida is hotter than Hell) and stay at the Sea Shell Motel right on the beach. I remember sand everywhere, saltwater up my nose, the all wood motel rotunda with displays of beautiful seashells and having too much fun. These are definitely my favorite childhood memories.

After pool time at Ruth’s, we would tromp back home through the Lanning’s back yard (we had to have worn out a trail in their grass) and we would be ravenous so Mom would serve us an early dinner. My favorite was “breakfast for dinner” French toast, oozing with Log Cabin maple syrup and butter. My earliest memories of great water fun with Mom was at the cabin that Grandma and Grandpa had on Long Lake in lower Michigan. We loved driving up there on a Friday night in our PJs so the adults could fish all weekend (no sushi here-beer batter all the way). Mom was every bit the fisherman as the men were. We played at the beach and consumed ice cream sandwiches at the bait and tackle store. Ah, simpler times. No, I never took to fishing either.

Mom loved to dance “rock and roll” with Dad. They spent many an evening in Florida going to the Elks Club listening to their favorite bands. The Glenn Miller Orchestra was their favorite-In The Mood will always be “their” song. Thom and I treated Mom and Dad, for their 40th wedding anniversary, to a dance in Indianapolis and enjoyed getting all fancy for a night out together. I still remember how tickled Mom was at Hannah’s wedding when Mike asked her to dance. That memory always makes me tear up.

I got my love for playing euchre from Mom but never understood her passion for bridge-too complicated for me. She played bridge for years and was quite good I believe. She didn’t like partners who didn’t know what they were doing. No tolerance for fools. Both my sister and Mom were much better with numbers than me. Later in life, Mom discovered Sudoku and religiously worked those puzzles daily to keep her mind alert along with so many rounds of online Solitaire on her iPad that her hand would cramp up. That Mom mastered social media in her 90s just reflected her love of learning. She enjoyed seeing pictures of the kids and staying connected through Facebook. Technology does change lives.

She and I were different in many ways. My sister and she were much more alike-Becky took to sewing, sang beautifully like Mom, and both cherished settling into small towns surrounded by close friends made over the years. I was the rebel. I’ve moved countless times and love travelling the world. Married at 19 and widowed at 21, I was more than Mom could handle at times in my teenage years.
She was my rock when George died. I remember her sitting with me at the hospital day after day, eating Mentos in the waiting room and ultimately helping me plan his funeral, which no 21-year-old should have to do. Afterward, I moved back in with my parents for a short transition period. They generously turned two bedrooms out of their three bedrooms into a suite for me and even added on a door so I would have privacy. I probably never thanked them enough for their kindness as I worked through my grief.

While she never had the opportunity to go to college, Mom did love working at Stoney Creek elementary school plus she always took on leadership roles in the various local organizations she joined. She went to a computer programming class later in life, probably in her 50’s.and she was proud of completing the course. Always thrifty (a trait I didn’t share until much later in life), if you ever needed cash in our house, you only need take a blue book from the shelf by the fireplace and give it a good shake. Out would fall cold hard cash, saved by Mom from her weekly household allowance, which she used for vacations and such. Knowing now what Dad’s salary was, it was amazing how they were able to provide such a comfortable lifestyle for our family.

Even on a budget, Mom was always meticulous in her appearance . She loved painting her nails, wearing turquoise rings and having cute coordinated outfits from the mall. She loved Dillard’s. Not too fancy (she wouldn’t want people to think her pretentious) but she definitely rocked a pulled together look at all times. Becky had to wrestle her heels away from her as she got older and she had to succumb to wearing more sensible shoes so as not to fall. Mom always smelled good, favoring Dove soap and White Diamonds perfume, which she got every year for Christmas.

I can’t quite say I’m a great cook like Mom, but I do make a few of her recipes that our family cherishes making, especially at the holidays. Her stuffing is always on our table for the family to enjoy. For many years, she took on the cooking duties for their community dinners in Florida for Thanksgiving, giving this role up only later in life after making 30+ pans of stuffing got to be too much for her. Enough, she said, let someone else do all the work! Dad agreed wholeheartedly as he always got roped in to assisting. I can’t even imagine how many loaves of bread you would have to toast to cater her stuffing to that size crowd.

We were able to enjoy several family vacations with Mom and Dad while the kids were young. On one such trip to Colorado, I discovered just how much Mom did not like heights. I don’t think she ever forgave Thom for parking on a scenic overlook on a mountain. To say that she didn’t appreciate the view would be putting it mildly. Hawaii went much smoother despite a painfully long flight and we enjoyed many happy hours in Kuai on our lanai watching Spouting Horn blow water jets into the air.

Mom taught me that if you work hard enough, you can overcome almost anything. When I sucked big time at typing in high school, she went out and rented a typewriter for me (a fancy electric model from Arbuckle’s, where she also got her fabric for sewing) so I could practice over Christmas break and not fail my typing class. I ended up being an incredibly fast typist, which helped me land a great job at L.S. Ayres that lead me to my long career in retailing. Those early life skills I learned from my Mom, most importantly “never give up”, made a huge difference in my life.

So many good memories! Here’s to Mom and her positive impact on the world while she was among us-great mother, wife, and friend. We will miss you and never forget you. I can only hope that I live such a full life like you enjoyed during your 93 years. I know you are in heaven now, dancing with Dad, playing euchre with Grandma Hannah, Mac and Jim, and sipping fine Port wine. Cheers, Mom! I love you.

Your daughter,
Melinda