Joyce Hoots

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Joyce (Loy) Hoots passed away on January 7, 2020 following a sudden illness. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, mother-in-law, and sister. She was born in Russell County, Kentucky, to the late James Alexander and Gertrude (Lawless) Loy. Joyce moved to Adair County at the age of 18 and in 1953 met and married the love of her life, Walter (Gene) Hoots, who preceded her in death in February of 2018.

Joyce and her husband had three children: Mayor Pamela Hoots of Columbia; Dr. Cathy (Hoots) Abell and husband, Paul, of Bowling Green; and Honorable Douglas Hoots and his wife, Tami, of Lexington, Kentucky. They had three grandchildren: Dr. Caitlyn (Abell) Bruns and husband, Alex, of Ames, Iowa; Ryan Hoots and his wife, Heather, of Lexington; and, Anna Claire Hoots of Lexington. Joyce recently had her first great-grandchild, Palmer Rose Hoots, of Lexington. Her grand dog, Jakky, visited her daily.

Joyce was one of eight children and is survived by five siblings: Clifford Loy, Billie J. Loy, Bobbie (Randall) Jones, Nellie Wilson, and Charles D. (Lynda) Loy. She was preceded in death by two brothers and their wives: Donald Loy and his wife, Joyce and Kenneth Loy and his wife, Deanna. She is survived by one additional sister-in-law, Peggy Hoots, and a brother-in-law, Anton Frank. She was also preceded in death by two brothers-in- law Royce Wilson and Rev. Bob Hoots and three sisters-in-law Phyllis Loy, Ellen Loy, and Shirley (Hoots) Frank.

“For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in” Matthew 25:35

Joyce’s passions in life were her children, grandchildren, church, and helping others. Nothing pleased Joyce more than having her children and grandchildren visit. She wanted to instill in them the importance of being kind to others. She role-modeled this in many ways, but one that people often think of when remembering Joyce is her love of cooking and sharing food with others; whether providing food to those who were sick, sending food to neighbors, inviting someone into her home to eat, taking food to Church dinners, or delivering cupcakes to her children’s school activities. If you visited Joyce, you usually left with food.

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." 3 John 1:4

Her greatest wish for her family was for them to keep their Christian faith. Joyce was active in the Columbia First Church of the Nazarene, where she taught a children’s Sunday school class for over forty years, and in 1998 was presented a Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her stewardship.

Pallbearers are her nephews: Barry Loy, Victor Loy, Honorable Jeff Loy, Tim Loy, Patrick Loy, Darren Loy, Derrell Wilson, David Wilson, Dr. Barney Jones, Greg Jones, Matthew Loy, Dr. Eric Loy, John Loy, Paul Frank, and Mark Hoots. Honorary pallbearers are Elliot Burton, Greg Dykes, Rev. Ben Johnson, Dennis Loy, Chuck Rogers, Larry Rooks, Rev. Rick Shelton, Jimmy Tupman, and John Tupman.

Visitation will be Thursday, January 9th beginning at 4:00 p.m. at Grissom-Martin Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held at the funeral home on Friday, January 10th at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. David Kemp and Rev. Brent Piatt officiating. Music provided by Barney and Mary Ann Burns and Sharon and Phyllis Payne.

Memorials can be made to the Walter (Gene) and Joyce Hoots Scholarship Fund; and, may be made at the funeral home or sent to Community Trust Bank in Columbia (1005 Jamestown Street) with designation noted to the scholarship fund. The scholarship is utilized in supporting an Adair County student, pursuing secondary education in a vocational field.

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