Lawrence C. HOYT

Other Events and Attributes:

• Census: 1910, Living with parents in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1930, Living in Norwalk, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1940, Living in Wilton, Fairfield Co., Connecticut

Notes:

Name:
Lawrence C. Hoyt of 189 Silver Spring Road, a Ridgefield native who spent nearly all of his 100 years in his hometown, died Sunday, Aug. 4, 2002, at Danbury Hospital. He had marked his 100th birthday on April 30.
Except for a stint in the U.S. Army 3rd Cavalry, Mr. Hoyt had lived in Ridgefield all of his years and had remained active in the social life of the community until shortly before his death. He was a regular at the Early Bird Café, where he delighted friends with stories of life in Ridgefield long ago and with playing his harmonica.
Larry Hoyt was born in his grandfather's house on Wilton Road West, a son of the late Ellis and Lottie Valiere Hoyt. His earliest education was in one-room schoolhouses in town.
When he was 17, Mr. Hoyt enlisted in the U.S. Army, with the aim of serving in the cavalry. Raised among farmers, "I had always loved animals, especially horses," he said in an interview two months ago.
He served with Troop A of the Third Cavalry in Vermont, training horses for military combat and drills.
"I think being in the cavalry was a highlight for him," said his daughter, Doris H. Ventres of Ridgefield. "If he didn't get married, he probably would have gone out and been a real cowboy."
In 1925 he married Gertrude "Trudy" Thomas, daughter of the village blacksmith, and was working as a caretaker on private estates in Ridgefield. He later became head custodian at Veterans Park School.
When the school was new, he planted spruce trees inside the circle. He and his wife raised two children during the Depression. Mrs. Ventres recalled her father as a gentle man who never got angry. "I don't think I have ever seen him mad," she said in June. "He's been a wonderful daddy."
In the 1980s, when his wife was diagnosed with a disease similar to Alzheimer's, Mr. Hoyt refused to allow her to go to a nursing home. He continued to care for her at home for nine years until her death in 1989.
An avid gardener, he enjoyed raising hybrid tea roses. In season his yard was always filled with flowers, much to the enjoyment of those who traveled Silver Spring Road. Even at 100, "he spades his own garden, he mows his own lawn, he trims his hedges, he takes care of his perennial bed," said neighbor and friend John Beckett recently.
As a boy, Mr. Hoyt learned to play the harmonica and eventually became known in the community as "The Harmonica Man," entertaining both young and old with his playing. At his 100th birthday party this spring, Mr. Hoyt put on a harmonica performance.
At the Early Bird, the Ridgefield Men's Club or among family and friends, Mr. Hoyt was known as a charming conversationalist who could tell stories of early 20th Century Ridgefield and cavalry life. He enjoyed recollections of listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats. "Roosevelt was a very effective president," Mr. Hoyt told an interviewer in May. "His character was different than presidents today."
He also had a fine sense of humor. In June, when more than 100 people gathered to celebrate his century of life, Mr. Hoyt confided that when he arose each morning, he'd look at a picture of himself as a young cavalryman and would ask: "What is that handsome young man going to do today?"
Besides his daughter, Mr. Hoyt is survived by a son, Lawrence M. Hoyt of Essex; a brother, Henry Hoyt of Lemster, N.H.: three grandchildren: Tad J. Ventres of Ridgefield, Dale H. Ventres of Wise River, Mont., and
Larry M. Hoyt of Ivoryton; two great-grandchildren: Cody J. Ventres and Garret T. Ventres of Wise River; and several nieces and nephews.
Services will take place today, Thursday, at 1 p.m. in the First Congregational Church, Ridgefield. Burial will follow in Bald Hill Cemetery, Wilton.
Contributions in Mr. Hoyt's memory may be made to the Ridgefield Men's Club, Box 736, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
The Kane Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.?Jack Sanders, The Ridgefield Press, August 2002

Family/Spouse: Gertrude Minola THOMAS. Gertrude (daughter of Harry Marvin THOMAS and Minolia ADAMS) was born on 16 Mar 1908 in Ridgefield, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 6 Jan 1988 in Danbury, Fairfield Co., Connecticut; was buried in Bald Hill Cemetery, Wilton, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Lawrence Marvin HOYT
2. Doris HOYT was born about 1929 in Connecticut.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Census: 1880, Living with parents in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Fact: 1880, Name is listed as Oliver
• Census: 1900, Living in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co. Connecticut
• Census: 1910, Living in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1920, Living in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1930, Living in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1940, Living in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut

Ellis married Lottie Charlotte VALIERE. Lottie was born in Apr 1880 in New Jersey; died in 1943; was buried in Scott's Cemetery, Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Census: 1900, Living with husband in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut
• Census: 1910, Living with husband in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co. Connecticut
• Census: 1920, Living with husband in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co. Connecticut
• Census: 1930, Living with husband in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co. Connecticut
• Census: 1940, Living with husband in Ridgefield, Fairfield Co., Connecticut