Barbara M. Hoyt

Barbara McAdams Hoyt, 93, passed away peacefully January 18th , at home in Northfield with her daughter Carolyn, son-in-law Don, and caregiver Shirley at her side. After many weeks of decline and 15 years of contending with Alzheimer’s, Bobby maintained a pleasant countenance to the end, listening to Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” as her last song. She always brightened the room by singing along, verbatim, to swing and Sinatra tunes!

She was born in Brookline, MA on December 12th, 1927 and lived in Newton, MA with her parents William Henry McAdams and Jean Dubbs McAdams, and Bobby’s younger sisters Nancy and Patty (deceased). Growing up, Bobby enjoyed horseback riding, summers at Ecole Champlain camp, and college at Northwestern and Pembroke. After the war, she met Nelson Landon Hoyt III (deceased) in Wilmette, and they were married in 1950. Bobby volunteered many years at Benton House in Chicago (one year as president) and assisted blind golfers at Indian Hill Club. The couple settled in Winnetka near what is now Hoyt Lane and she raised five children, all of whom survive her: Nelson Landon Hoyt IV (Debbie) of Galesburg, IL; William Henry Hoyt (Cathy) of Greeley, CO; Carolyn McAdams Westfall (Don) of Thornton, CO; Phelps Beresford Hoyt (Allison) of Scarsdale, NY; and Stephen Dubbs Hoyt (Suzie) of Glastonbury, CT. She enjoyed having twelve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Some Chicago history passes with Bobby. William Melanchton Hoyt established a commercial grocery on the South Branch of the Chicago River following the Fire of 1871. Hoyt’s Chicago Restaurant on East Wacker Drive celebrates that story. And Bobby’s grandfather, Carbon Petroleum Dubbs, pioneered oil cracking processes, earning 140 patents mostly at the Riverside Laboratory of Universal Oil Products in McCook (5 miles west of Midway Airport).

The family tentatively plans a small graveside service in the summer of 2021 at the Hoyt Family plot at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601.