Joanne "Tookie" Hoyt

JoAnne Boulette Hoyt
July 21, 1934"Nov. 30, 2018
Graveside memorial service: 2 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Lander native JoAnne Boulette Hoyt, 84, passed away Nov. 30 at home, with son David at her side. She was the sole surviving sibling of 11 children born to Helen and William Boulette.
After graduating from Freemont County Vocational High School in 1952, JoAnne attended Union College, Lincoln, NE, touring the U.S. as lead soprano with The Unionaires, an acclaimed vocal group. She won numerous singing awards. In 1955, she left college to care for her injured sister Zorka in Chicago and worked at a major downtown bank.
In 1959, she moved to Sacramento, CA and worked for the Rand Corporation until called home in 1961 to care for her ailing mother in Lander. There she met and married Elmer Hoyt; they spent 38 happy years together.
JoAnnes life centered around family, singing and the Seventh Day Adventist Church. For years she hosted the Lander SDA Churchs annual backyard BBQ reunion dinner at her home, drawing one-time Landerites from many states. Nicknamed Tookie by her family, she dreamed since childhood of being a missionary. Performing solos in churches across the country, she indeed used her remarkable voice to express her deep faith and inspire all who heard her.
Besides her son, she is survived by grandson Noah Hoyt, nephews Donald, John and Richard Boulette and Frank Homec and nieces Shirley Case and Shannon Killebrew, all of Lander, and nephews and nieces Alexander Josef Greig (MI), William Boulette, Jr. (UT), Bruce Boulette (CO), Gloria Pierce (NE), Mary Gede (MD), Janet Schwartz (FL), Donna Boulette (TX) and cousin Jelena Gill (FL).
She is preceded in death by her husband, Elmer Hoyt in 2002. Also, her brothers and sisters Dolly Greig, Willie Boulette, Johnny Boulette, Vernon Boulette, Andy Boulette, Zorka Myles, Mish Homec, Donald Boulette, Mike Boulette, and Jeanie Skorcz.