Robert "Bob" Hoyt

On Saturday, January 20th, along with Jack Platt ’53 and his wife Julie, went to Grace Hall to watch Lehigh defeat Navy for the 55th time in a series that goes back to 1910.  This was the 104th meeting.  Lehigh is Navy's longest rival. The bouts split 5-5 with Lehigh scoring 2 pins.

Wish that I had more to report, but my Lehigh contact is a bare minimum. Still walking unaided on my own two feet with no artificial joints, no hearing aids, just 2 pills a day. I count my Blessings.  Bob - March 2024 belated

Short September note from Bob:  Bill, I’ve been having a few problems with my computer of late.  I have returned from my vacation home on Nantucket where I was for all of July & August?  I’m hoping that Lehigh’s football fortunes improve over last year with a new coach.  I’m also curious as to how many of our classmates are still alive? (per website 9/17/23, 39 active, 412 deceased and 261 “Lost.”  "Lost" means we haven't heard from a classmate in over 20 years.)  I find it amazing that you logged 1,900 miles on your bike so far thus year.  My doctor doesn’t want me riding anymore for the fear that if I fell, I’d break something and that would be catastrophic.  I’ve never had any broken bones, artificial joints, etc.  Bob - September 2023

From Bob, 6/8/23:  I received a letter from Carolyn Schmidt that her husband, Richard Donald Schmidt, Jr. born June 27, 1930, died February 26th, 2023.  Dick is survived by his wife and one son, three daughters and six stepdaughters.  I saw him last at our 70th Reunion.

This spring I’ve had two 5 days stays at Paoli, PA, Hospital due aspiration pneumonia.  After discharge the 2nd time I was sent to my Dunwoody Village Care Center where I stayed for another 2 weeks and 2 days so that I could regain my strength and be discharged to Dunwoody’s Indecent Living.  I am planning to leave for my Nantucket summer home on June 25th where I hope to stay until shortly after Labor Day my health allowing.  I am ever hopeful that with a new head football coach Lehigh will return to our former football status.  The past four years have been agony.  Bob – Editor’s comment: I checked with Bob, “Indecent” was a spell-check error, not intentional.  June 2023

Friends, Sunday, August 28th, afternoon I was riding my bike to Siasconset for my 2nd trip of the week.  I was in sight my destination when something went wrong and I passed out.  Fortunately, my son, Christian's sister-in-law, Tonya Harbour, was riding with me.  She called 911 and soon I found myself in a Nantucket ambulance on my way to the hospital.  Nantucket's hospital has 16 beds.  I spent 6 hours in the ER.  No broken bones, suspicion that I had a cardiac event, but no confirmation of that.  Addendum:  The fact that I have been bike riding since getting to Nantucket in June (a couple of times each week for about 8 miles each time) is an accomplishment for anyone age 92.  Incidentally, it was so sad that only 4 of our class made it to our 70th Reunion.  Bob - August 2022.

Editor's note:  What a wimp I am.  All I did in August was get screened into a mailbox.

As Class Correspondent, I asked Bob to be my eyes and ears at our 70th Reunion.  Here is his report as written to Bob Arndt and Ralph Fortney:

I failed miserably inasmuch as I was late for the march off.  I was standing at the ’52 post awaiting a go-cart which never came.  I heard the announcer yell, “The Class of ’52’” but I wasn’t there.  After lunch I spotted Dick Schmidt’s son who led me to Dick and his wife.  End of report. 

From Bob Arndt to Bob:  Sorry that you missed us.  Schmidt, Ralph and I were in golf carts at the head of the parade.  The Luncheon in front of Packard was terrific, comments from the new president were O.K., my bus tour of Campus nor so good - non-student guide not totally informed.  Ralph said his tour of Bethlehem was great, with guide in Moravian costume.  Dinner in University Center was pretty good.  Wally Field, Dick Allen '51 and Bill Burgin joined us.

Dick Schmidt wrote:  Hoyt, you missed out.  Carolyn and I went to all the major activities.  We came from Arizona and are glad we made the long trip.  We were with our son, Curt ‘75 and a granddaughter, Alivia ’16, from Maine.  Curt received the Alumni Award on Thursday, same as I received in 2017.  Lehigh has the most beautiful campus I have ever seen.  We should be pleased and proud of the planning and conservation done by the Lehigh team.  We are going to Maine for grandson’s wedding.  We may be getting too old for all this traveling, but what the hell!!  Like Hoyt, we sold our home and moved into a retirement facility.  They feed us and clean up after us and provide many activities.  There is still much in the storage facility.  I stopped working, part time, 18 months ago - Arthritis and back problems.  We should start planning for our next reunion in 2027 and Hoyt, try to be there on time.

Bob also added some personal information:  After living in Berwyn, PA, for the past 58 years I sold my house and moved into a one bedroom apartment in Dunwoody retirement community.  I am in Newtown Square, PA.  Shrinking from 3,000 sq. ft. to 720 sq. ft. isn’t easy.  Getting rid of a lifetime of things isn’t a task for the faint-hearted.  I’m going to my condo in Nantucket this Summer.  I have all of my original joints, no hearing aids, walk unaided, and can drive my car.  Four of my six children live nearby as do my 16 grandchildren and my 4 greats.  Not bad for an old guy!  June 2022, 70th Reunion News

Bob offered a eulogy for Bob Horning, September 2021

Bob sent some news about a mutual friend, Jack Platt, Class of ’53, and after some coaxing, added these tidbits to his colorful history:  It’s a strange feeling now that everyone in our class is in their 90’s. I still drive. My condo has all bedrooms on the 2^nd floor and I have no problem getting up and down the stairs a half dozen times a day.  I’ve been a widower since I lost my wife, Terry, in 2003.  We were married 49 years.  It’s been tough alone for the past 18 years.

 The payroll service, Pay USA, which I founded in 1969, is still going strong 51 years later being run by my son, Christian.  I am fortunate to have four of my six children living nearby on Philadelphia’s Main Line.

 I think that it’s fun to talk about children and grandchildren.   My oldest grandchild, Kerry, is a graduate of the University of Virginia and she and her husband, have three boys who are 8, 7 and 4.  She lives near me so I see my “greats” fairly often.  Her mother, my daughter, Katie, is a Yale graduate.  Her husband, Bill, is the retired President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Vanguard.  To keep himself busy he’s on the Boards of IBM, United Health and Touche & Young CPAs, plus numerous smaller firms.  My 2^nd daughter, Amy, is married to Jim, who graduated from Penn Law when he was 22.  He served for 31 years in the Naval reserve, retiring as a Captain  Their eldest son, Quentin, took ROTC at Bucknell.  On May 5^th this year he was promoted to Captain, US Army Aviation.  Their 2^nd son, Callum, graduated Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth and is now fully funded for the next five years to pursue a PhD at the University of Washington.  I have another grandson, Sawyer, who is completing his first year in Army ROTC at the University of Miami.  My six children have produced 16 grandchildren.  In June I will relocate to Nantucket Island for the summer months. I have been going there every year since 1954.  All of my family will visit for at least a week this summer. I’ve gotten my two COVID shots and sure hope that things return to more normal conditions soon.  May 2021

In October, Bob Hoyt wrote:  Yesterday I had lunch in Lancaster with John Seville (picture at right).  I had not seen John since the spring of 2016.  He and his wife, Joan, have recently moved into a Lutheran Church Retirement home in Yok.  I'm living near to my two daughters and two of my four sons.

I summer  in Nantucket which is very popular when many of my 16 grandchildren visit one family at a time.  While in Nantucket I enjoy sailboat racing at the Nantucket Yacht Club and, like you, I enjoy bike riding, although not every day.  Special care must be taken to maintain balance so as not to fall. 

For the past five years one of my daughters has taken me to the UK to see theater in London and spend three days at a Manor House in the country.  I have my tickets to the Lehigh-Lafayette game although, in my opinion, the team does not measure up to what it was in years gone by.  On a non-Class of '52 subject, I have seen once or twice a year Jack Pratt '53 who was a wrestling partner of mine. - October 2019

Hi Bill, you will receive your reward for being the ’52 Class correspondent when you get to heaven. 

Watched the Cornell-Lehigh wrestling match recently with my wrestling partner, Jack Platt ’53.  I’ve still got all of my original joints.  I was water skiing up until four years ago then my legs gave out.  I still bike ride, albeit slowly.  ( Bill's note:  Bob, you have yet to accept my challenge from way back in 2014!  I rode 1,564 miles last year so I'm still ready for you).  Go to the gym 3X a week.

My wife has been gone for 15 years, but I am soldiering on living in a condo both here in Pennsylvania and in the summer in Nantucket.  In Nantucket, I  race in an 18’ sailboat.

Four of my six children live nearby, so I have lots of support.  I am proud that one of my 13 grandsons took Army ROTC and now is a 1^st Lieutenant, flying generals around  Washington DC.  His base is Ft Belvoir where I served before going to Korea.  One of my three granddaughters is married and has three boys, so I’m a great granddad.  My son-in-law, Bill McNabb, served as CEO of Vanguard for 10 years taking company from 1 to 5 trillion dollars in client assets.  Bob - January 2019

In our class news, Summer 2018, Bob Hoyt emails that Fred Gartside passed in January.  Fred and I were classmates at Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J.

 January 2018 note to Bob - I did a personal best in December of 381 miles for the month.  Still waiting for you to reply to my acceptance of your 2014 challenge. - Bill.

August 2017 note to Bob - I still average 60 miles a week on my bicycle w/o a motor!  Still waiting for you to reply to my acceptance of your 2014 challenge. - Bill.

I have a conflict for the weekend of May 19-21 for Lehigh's 65th Reunion.  I have a grandson being commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and his graduation from Bucknell the same weekend.  He will report for duty for helicopter pilot training for Army Aviation June 19th in Alabama.  Sorry, Bob - March 2017

From Fall / Winter 2016 Alumni Bulletin:  Bob Hoyt emailed to say that Bruce Hill passed away in June 2016.  God bless you, Bruce.

Bob writes:  Bruce Hill (deceased)  is still around, also Fred Gartside (deceased) and Bob Horning (deceased).  I got up on water skies again this past summer. Can anyone top that?  Editor's Note:  Bob, you never acknowledged my acceptance of your last challenge. -  November 2015

Bob spent some time with Betsey and Mayo Snyder (deceased)  at their home overlooking the lake in Cooperstown, N.Y.  Mayo and Bob grew up together in Plainfield, N.J.  Bob also visited with John Seville in Lancaster, Pa., in June 2014, prior to spend­ing the summer on Nantucket boating and cycling.  Thanks, Bob  for keeping us up to date.  Circa June 2015

Bob sent me news of Pete Shaw's death - February 2015

Bob spent some time with Betsey and Mayo Snyder (deceased)  at their home overlooking the lake in Cooperstown, NY.  Mayo and Bob grew up together in Plainfield, NJ.  Bob also visited with John Seville in Lancaster, PA in June, 2014 prior to spending the summer on Nantucket boating and cycling.  Thanks, Bob, for keeping us up to date. - Fall 2014 Class Notes

 I ask this question how many of our classmates can still get up on water-skis and go a mile in fairly rough water as we have here in Nantucket?  I did it again two days later just to prove that it was no fluke.  I also have enjoyed my 20 mile bike rides several times a week while I am in at my Nantucket summer house for three months.  No speed record, but once I start a route there is no turning back.  Bob – August 2014

 Note to Bob - See my latest (January 2018) answer to this challenge.  It has been over 3 years now!

Bob, I will take your bike challenge but not the water skiing one - Bill

 I will conclude with a letter from John Kerr (deceased), my former roommate at Sigma Nu.  Since 2001, John and Mims have been living near West Chester, Pa., at Hershey's Mill, a 750-acre gated community of about 1,800 homes situated in 25 villages surrounded by a golf course.  John and some of the other Lehigh alums living there decided to form an alumni club.  With help from the University, they attracted alumni from the classes of the '40s, '50s and '60s in the greater Philadelphia area and northern Delaware.  Meetings have included talks by administra­tion members on campus planning, a recent Stabler gift of 750 acres in Saucon Valley and student life today.  The spring 2013 meeting included John, Ed Purdy (deceased), Bob Hoyt and Ralph Fortney.  John ends by saying:  "He and Mims are doing okay, considering the warranty is running out on some of our body parts." - Winter 2013 Alumni Bulletin

From Fall 2011 (January 2012) Alumni Bulletin - When this column reaches the class, we will be a few months short from our glorious 60th Reunion.  Don’t forget to set aside May 18‑19, 2012, for that occasion.  Bob Hoyt sent an e‑mail indicating that the Class of 1951's 60th Reunion only drew 20 guys.  We can do better than that!

Bob went on to say that he has had recent visits with Bob Homing (deceased), Freddy Gartside (deceased), and John Seville.  

November 2011:  Recalling as best I can from my diary:  March 26, 2011 on a trip to Florida had lunch with Bob Horning (deceased) and his wife, Joan, in Spring Island, SC.  They were in the process of moving to Wilmington, NC, into a gated community near one of their two daughters.  Later that day I arrived in Broxton, GA and had a nice two day stay with Fred Gartside (deceased) and his wife, Judy.

May 23, 2011 drove to Lancaster County and had a lunch get together with John Seville who had driven there from his home in York, PA.

October 9, 2011 drove to York, PA and had a visit followed by dinner with John Seville and his wife, Joan.

October 29, 2011 had been scheduled to visit with Mayo Snyder (deceased)  and his wife, Betsey, this weekend in Cooperstown, NY.   Mayo and I were going to the Lehigh-Colgate game in Hamilton, NY.  Plans got scrubbed because Betsey got sick.  It was just as well for a very early snowstorm swept through putting two million homes out of power.

As far as me personally I had my second re-visit tour of S. Korea June 20-27, 2011, taking my 16 year old grandson with me.  This trip was paid for by the Korean people in appreciation for what the US Army did for them in 1950-53.  I had been also invited in 2003 and took another grandson then.  Since I have 13 grandsons, I've got many more visits to go.

Upon return I went to my summer house in Nantucket Island, Massachusetts for 11 weeks.  Lots of bike riding, sailboat racing and water skiing.  Yes, I can still water ski.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Holy Cross game.   We have a good football team this year.

One further note:  Since I got my first degree from Lehigh in '51, I attended my 60th reunion on May 21, 2011.  Only 20 classmates showed up!  I hope that the class of '52 can do a lot better!  Bob

The weekend of May 14-16, John Seville, Bud Eakin and I were hosted by Bruce Hill (deceased)  and his wife, Jacquie, at their mountain retreat house which is about an hour southeast of Pittsburgh.  We were all congratulating each other on making it to 80.  I thought that I wrote you about that but perhaps I didn't.  Bob Hoyt, August 2010

Webmaster Note:  Pat Moran (deceased)  is the Class Correspondent, Bill Erdman is the keeper of the WebSite.

From Winter 2010 Alumni Bulletin - Bob Hoyt, Berwyn, Pa., e‑mailed that he had a nice visit in early '09 with Bob Horning (deceased) and his wife, Joan, in Spring Island, S.C.

January 2008 - Did you get the word that Bill Henderson passed away in July?  I had had lunch with him in March '07 in Florida.  He was having trouble getting around with his weight problem.

I do talk fairly regularly with Bruce Hill (deceased) , John Seville and Fred Gartside (deceased) all of whom were ushers of mine.

Since I lost my wife, Terry, of 49 years in 2003 life has been a little lonely.  However, I do have six children and sixteen grandchildren . Four of my children live very close to me in Berwyn, PA and a 5th is readily reachable in Virginia.  My sixth is in LA and I see him once or twice a year.

Lehigh's football season was a disappointment as has been the wrestling season.  Bob

November 2006 - For what it’s worth, I got a call from my Ford Modeling agency in New York in July do a shoot for J Crew on Block Island.  I was in Nantucket at my summer home at the time.  I was in the “grandfather” in a family shot of two grandparents, two parents and two children.  The grandmother was a woman they brought in from Nice, France.  I’m on hold for another shoot scheduled for December 14th-21st.   My agency in Seattle said that it would be somewhere out of the country for a passport was required.  I’ll let you know if I get booked for the job.

In August I did manage to stay up on one ski for about a mile being towed behind my motorboat.  That feat seems to get more difficult each year.   Bob

 If you’re disparate for class news, I talk regularly with Bill Henderson, John Seville, Fred Gartside (deceased) and Bruce Hill (deceased) .  I also recently talked with Bob Horning (deceased) & Joan.  I saw Bill & Barbara Smith at a Lehigh football game.

 After being a widower for over a year, I’m now dating a former neighbor and friend of my wife’s who also lost her spouse to cancer.  It’s fun to take her out to dinner, send her flowers and open the door for her.  She’s a better cook than I, so I enjoy her home cooked meals. I have to brush up on all of my courting techniques of over fifty years ago. I’ll keep you posted.

From Spring 2004, Alumni Bulletin:  Bob Hoyt, a frequent contributor, wrote a series of emails.  Sadly, one reported the passing of his wife, Terry. She battled cancer for seven years and is survived by Bob, six children and 15 grandchildren.  We extend sincerest condolences from the class to Bob and his family.  In July 2003, Bob, along with 1,200 other veterans from 21 countries, spent five days in Korea celebrating the end of hostilities that occurred 50 years ago on July 27, 1953.  Bob also mentioned that he has spent 18 years modeling and recently appeared in a Brooks Brothers ad in Vanity Fair magazine.

March 2004: I returned last week from at 13 day swing through Florida seeing two first cousins, two of my nephews, two of my children's in-laws, two of my wife's bridesmaids and two of my ushers, namely Fred Gartside (deceased) and Bill Henderson.  Arriving in Jacksonville, I drove 120 miles northwest into Georgia and spent a couple of nights with Freddy and Judy Gartside.  Freddy sold his CPA business in Jacksonville a few years ago and now spends six months of the year in a small town, Broxton, near their daughter and grandchildren.  In the summer they go to their summer place in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina.  Freddy put in a call to Bob Horning (deceased) and we had a nice telephone conversation with him.  Later in my trip, when I was staying with one of my son's in-laws in Boca Raton, I had lunch with big Bill Henderson.  It was good to see both of my classmates. 

This past Saturday I went to Bethlehem to attend the banquet for the wrestling team honoring their 3rd win in a row at the EIWA and their tie for 3rd in the Nationals.  At the dinner at the Hotel Bethlehem sitting at my table was Dick Schmidt's son, who is a Lehigh grad living in NJ and working in NYC for an environmental company.  His father, Dick, lives in Arizona or New Mexico.

One other classmate that I tried to contact, when I was staying with my cousin in Vero Beach, was Tom Balch, but he was away in Utah skiing for 3 weeks.  When I got back home last week, we compared notes on our service in the Army in Korea in 1953-54.  When I talked with Tom last fall soliciting money for Lehigh, I mentioned about my 50th anniversary trip to Korea in July 2003.  He had expressed some possible interest and I told him where to get the info from the Military Historical Tours in Virginia.  He is considering buying a summer home on Lake Erie in Ohio, near his wife's relatives.

When I was making phone calls last fall for Lehigh, I talked with Ken Kircher (deceased) in Delaware and I believe both he and his wife were both having health problems.

February 2004 #1:  In June I was in NYC for a Brooks Brothers ad commemorating 185 years of being in business.  This was in the October 2003 issue of Vanity Fair.  There were three of us in this shot: a guy, Tim Easton, with whom I modeled 18 years ago, who is 40 and has a 10 old boy.  I was the grandfather.  A couple of weeks ago I was in New York in front of a Barnes and Noble store facing Union Square.  I was supposed to be a customer exiting the front door.  It was 20F outside and we had to do the shot dozens of times.  There were others in the shot: a 20 year old Asian girl (youth), a 35 year old black lady model, a guy from India (who must have been 45), and a Hispanic.  They, the client (Barnes & Noble), wanted to show diversity in their customers.  I was the token Caucasian and I represented the senior citizen class!  Everything has to be politically correct.

February 2004 #2:  In March 2003, I attended the EIWA ("The Easterns") at Cornell in Ithaca, NY.  Lehigh won!  After the awards on a Saturday night the Lehigh wrestling fans (some 125) attended a dinner at a restaurant in downtown Ithaca that was formerly the Lehigh Valley Railroad station.  Most everything was preserved.  The bar was behind the cages (like in a bank) where the ticket agents used to be.  It was very sentimental to me because I remember vividly traveling with the wrestling team by bus through all the towns on the way to Ithaca for there was no Pennsylvania NE Extension of the Turnpike then.  It must have taken a long time.  When we arrived in Ithaca the bus had difficulty in going up the hill to Cornell, (it's worse than South Mountain) and so Billy Sheridan turned to the head manager, Bill Erdman, and said something to the effect, " send the bus home empty, we'll go by train the way we always used to go".  The train arrived at night, it was a sleeper bound for New York City.  We all got on and I, along with all the rest of the team, had separate compartments.  Not all sleepers were this way, as a learned later when I was working for GE and took a sleeper from Pittsburgh to NYC.  It was one open car with only curtains and very little privacy.  Well, anyway back to the LV train, we must have arrived in Bethlehem in the wee hours before dawn and our car was disconnected so that the rest of the train could proceed to New York.  Our car was to be picked up when the first Reading RR train came up to Bethlehem from Philadelphia.  This meant that we were not roused up too early more like a civilized time of 8 AM.

Denny Diehl, the able scribe of the Lehigh e-mail wrestling news, was interested in this story for part of his lore of Lehigh wrestling history.  For all I know this could have been the last time that Lehigh's wrestling team traveled by train and or sleeper at that.

 November 2003:  In early September I told Pat Moran (deceased)  of my return trip to Korea, as a guest of the Koreans, in appreciation of having served there in the Army 50 years ago.  My 18 year old grandson accompanied me, since my wife was ill.  This story did not make it into the Fall 2003 Alumni Bulletin.

On November 1st my dear wife, Terry, died of ovarian cancer.  We were married on November 27, 1954, almost 49 years ago.  She is survived by our six children and 15 grandchildren.  Bob

Bob Hoyt writes, Spring 2003, that while on a Nantucket vacation, I visited with Pete Shaw (deceased), and also spent some time with Bruce Hill (deceased)  and John Seville hiking in the Laurel Mountains near Pittsburgh.

From 50th Reunion Book, 2002 - Upon graduation, I went into the Army and served in Korea.  Returning in the Spring of 1954, I drove to Harvard for an MBA school interview.  On the same trip, my cousin set me up on a date with Terry Richards, who was just graduating from Mount Holyoke.  Although I was accepted by Harvard, I chose to go to work, get married and raise a family.

Now 47 years later, we have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.  I worked 12 years for GE in 7 different locations as a sales engineer.  The only course at Lehigh I ever dropped was in sales management, because I thought that I'd never need that!  I changed jobs once and worked 4 years for Univac.  When they wanted to transfer me to St. Paul, I decided to take a gamble on my own business and stay put in the Philadelphia area.  I started a payroll service company and today we're still going strong with over 400 accounts.  Why didn't I spend more attention to that co-accounting for engineers at Lehigh?

The first 2 years of being in business were a severe financial strain, but by the 3rd year, when our oldest went off to Yale, the money was there!  At age 56, I got my first job as a professional model.  This followed over the next 15 years with 300 assignments to Europe, Asia, Africa, Hawaii and the U.S.  Terry and I have summered in Nantucket for 47 years, where I enjoy sailboat racing, water skiing, tennis and bike riding.

May 2001 - Since I got my first degree from Lehigh in 1951, I'm going to my 50th reunion June 8-9, 2001, so I'll know what it's like  for my '52 50th reunion.  I am still running my payroll service business; we have over 400 clients in the Philadelphia area.

For the past three years, I've taken the entire summer off to go with my wife, Terry, to Nantucket Island, where we've been going since 1954.  One of my sons, Christian, has been working with me for 11 years and he plans to continue the business, after I go out to pasture.

My modeling work has slowed down, but I did have a nice trip last July for Orvis to snow capped Mt. Hood in Oregon.  Since 1986 I have had some 350 assignments that have taken me all over the US, including Hawaii, to Europe 40 times, and to Africa and Asia.  The German I took at Lehigh finally came in handy for many of the clients were German.

Five of our six children are married and we have 10 grandchildren, with two more on the way.  Our only unmarried son, John, has been for many years the world's top paid model and is now trying to break into the movie business.   Bob Hoyt