William (Bill) Tebo Hoyt

William (Bill) Tebo Hoyt, 80, passed on from this life on Dec. 11 to be reunited with his beloved first wife, Audrey, daughter Susan Hoyt Wells and grandson Keith Hoyt.

He was born June 9, 1925 in West Seattle.

After serving two years in the United States Army, he married Audrey Holman on June 12, 1947 and they were together for 34 years until her death in 1984.

Bill loved being his own boss — when his four children were young he bought an apartment in Lake City onto which he added. Then the family moved to the Airline Motel and Trailer Park close to the SeaTac airport. He then traded that for a mobile home park in Moses Lake, an apartment in Astoria and a house in Seattle. When the apartment burned down, he sold the house and bought Lloyd's Boathouse in West Seattle, which he had from 1965 to 1971. Then he moved to Moses Lake to remodel the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park.

Bill was an all-around handyman; if something needed to be done, he didn't think twice before tackling it. Sometimes his wife wished he did, such as when he wired the electricity to a mobile home he had moved into the trailer park — when anyone touched the door handle they got a bit of a shock … or the time he was remodeling the mobile home park and he dug up the telephone wires with his backhoe. (Fortunately, he knew someone that worked for the telephone company.) After that incident, a cartoon appeared in the telephone book showing a man pulling up wires with a backhoe, reminding people to call before doing any digging.

Bill recognized obstacles as opportunities: during a fierce windstorm, the roof was blown off his mobile home, and instead of just repairing his own roof, he went into the roofing business, repairing all the other roofs blown off in the storm.

Despite his color blindness, Bill was extremely talented. He restored antique cars and would pick wonderful color combinations to paint them. His favorite was a 1912 Model T, which he converted to a fire truck with meticulous craftsmanship and original parts. He was an avid member of the Columbia Basin Horseless Carriage Club.

Bill married Donna Olson on Sept. 10, 1988. They built the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast, where they continued enjoying their antique cars. Bill will be remembered for his easy going, fun-loving, gentle spirit. He will be missed greatly by his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, Donna, of Moses Lake; son William Hoyt and his wife Susan of Seattle; son Gary Hoyt and wife Susanne of Port Orchard; son-in-law Bob Wells and wife Carrine of Cle Elum; daughter Kathleen Hoyt Cotton and husband Carl of Renton; stepsons Rick Olson and wife Trisha, Douglas Olson and Don Olson, all of Moses Lake; 14 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Memorial services will be held at the Light and Life Fellowship Church located at 935 W. Valley Road in Moses Lake at 2 p.m. on Dec. 17. Following the service, there will be a gathering of family and friends at the Country Inn Bed and Breakfast located at 2801 W. Peninsula Drive in Moses Lake to celebrate his life and share fond memories of him.