…‘A remarkable woman who carried more than her fair share of personal tragedy’
The remains of former First Lady, Mrs Joyce Noreen Iris Hoyte, was yesterday laid to rest at Le Repentir Cemetery, following a moving thanksgiving ceremony in celebration of her life at St. Andrew’s Kirk, Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown.
Mrs. Hoyte’s body, earlier in the day, before being taken to the Church, lay in state at the Robert Lyken Memorial Chapel, John and Norton Streets, where there was private viewing by family members and close friends.
Joining the modest gathering at the Chapel was President Bharrat Jagdeo who met with and offered condolences to the bereaved relatives and paid his last respects to the wife of the late ex-President, Mr. Hugh Desmond Hoyte. 
At St. Andrew’s Kirk, a packed congregation solemnly awaited the arrival of the cortege, and the reception of the casket bearing the remains of Mrs. Hoyte by presiding minister, Reverend Maureen Massiah.  
Meanwhile, amongst the distinguished gathering of mourners and sympathizers at St. Andrew’s Kirk were Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds; Head of the Opposition PNCR, Mr. Robert Corbin; members of the party’s  central executive; Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green; relatives and close friends of the Hoyte family, and a wide cross-section of others from civil society.
Glowing tributes to the memory of the former First Lady, known to have been a very private person, were offered by government representative Ms. Gail Teixeira, Advisor on Governance within the Office of the President; Dr. Faith Harding  – presidential candidate of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) and a close friend of the deceased; Mr. Vibert Parvattan, also a close friend of the Hoytes; Mr. Samuel Khan, nephew of the deceased ; Rev. Brinmore Phaul and others
The eulogy was read by Mr. Carl Greenidge, ex-Finance Minister within the PNC regime and also a close friend of the Hoytes.
Described as very gracious, a woman of integrity, gentle, kind and loving,  selfless, loving and kind, unfailingly polite, one of  great strength of character, fortitude, and good humour.
To her husband, she was said to be a ‘tower of strength and steel’ , playing a key and supportive role in personal life as well as displaying an immense capacity to give much-needed support in the vast responsibilities that devolved on him. 
Ms. Teixiera, recalling the admirable union shared by the late President Hoyte and former First Lady, commented on Mr. Hoyte’s closeness and devotion to her, adding that it is something that should be given special recognition, particularly in these times.  And of Mrs. Hoyte, she said: “My impression was that she (Mrs Hoyte) was a well-spoken, cautious and strong woman, quiet and playing a key and supportive role in her husbands’s life… From all that was told, she was his greatest confidante.”
She alluded to Mrs. Hoyte as having great courage, strength and fortitude, with a remarkable capacity to deal with tragedies.  This became evident in the manner in which she coped with the deaths of her only two children – Maxine and Amanda, her sister, Gwendoline, and driver of the motor vehicle which claimed their lives in 1985.
Having herself been seriously injured in the same accident, necessitating medical treatment abroad, Mrs. Hoyte, nevertheless, throughout her pain and travail, kept the faith, mourned silently and rallied with the support of her husband.  Her faith was again severely tried with the death of her husband in 2002.
It was here that her strength and capacity to deal with tragedies were severely tested and tried and she displayed great fortitude, continuing, after their deaths, to live in the same home, to the time of her death.
Meanwhile, Dr. Faith Harding remembered Mrs. Hoyte as a self-sacrificing woman in all that she did; unfailingly polite, good humoured; loving and dedicated to her husband and children, proudly performing the nurturing role of womanhood. “She was a woman of substance, integrity and love,” Dr. Harding recalled, adding that Mrs. Hoyte had a great love for children and contributed to charity.  She was patron of two homes – the Ruimveldt Children’s Centre and the Emmanuel Day Care Centre.  She was a repository of knowledge which she shared with others, making available to them resources from her own library she set up in the home.
Mr. Parvattan, who from 1986 to 1992 served as Minister of Agriculture during President Hoyte’s presidency, had come to know Mr and Mrs. Hoyte very well and became a close friend. He recalled how commendably she dealt with her grief and the pain of loss, following the deaths of her children. “She was a devoted and caring wife who was protective of and totally committed to the welfare of her husband,” he recalled.
Meanwhile, Mr. Greenidge alluded to the former First Lady as a ‘backbone of steel’ behind her husband, Desmond Hoyte. He recounted she had an interest in politics.  “She was a political animal who opted to remain in the background, but was of great support to her husband who had to undergo very challenging times [along the way].”
She was familiar with the issues of state, and apart from her love of politics, Mrs. Hoyte had a passion for charities, but seldom attended social activities.
Mr. Greenidge concluded, “She was a remarkable woman who carried more than her fair share of personal tragedy.”
A woman full of love for her husband and two daughters, but having been separated from them by death, Mrs. Hoyte after years of quiet but deep anguish, died on Monday February, 14 (Valentine’s Day).   She died at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital after a short illness.