Donald "Pete" Hoyt Obituary

Donald “Pete” Dean Hoyt, “The Singing Barber,” after a long struggle with cancer, died at the age of 84 at Mayo Clinic Health System - Lake City Care Center on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017.
    Pete was born on the 9 mile island near Durand, Wis., on the Chippewa River to Claude and Irene (Moots) Hoyt. In his younger years, he worked various jobs before joining the Army and served in Korea.
    When he came back he went to barber school and then met and married Carol Johnson on Sept. 1, 1956. He moved his family to Lake City in 1962 and bought a barber shop, which he moved into the hotel.
    Getting a hair cut at Hoyt’s Barber Shop was more than just getting a haircut. He would also play the guitar and sing you a song and then take you over to the Galley and buy you a cup of coffee and a piece of pie.
    Pete loved God, his family, being a foster parent, playing guitar, harmonica and the saw, dancing, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, ice skating, roller skating, water skiing, playing cards and always lending a hand to anyone in need.
    Pete is survived by his loving wife, Carol; three daughters, Gwen (Rick) Schafer, Trudy (Dave) Roach, and Lori (Steve) Dougherty; a foster daughter, Dori (Rollie) Klindworth; and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his adopted son, Jamie; granddaughter, Ginny Jo Roach; great-granddaughter, Leah Irene Stoltz; parents; two brothers, Wilbur and Scout; three sisters, Pat Klenk, Sandy Rossi and Lou Ann Hyde; and two siblings prior to his birth.
    The funeral was Saturday, Dec. 2, at the First Lutheran Church in Lake City.