R-98 Page 1 of 1
2025
VT LEG #382525 v.1
No. R-98. House concurrent resolution in memory of former Representative and
Secretary of Administration Kathleen C. Hoyt of Norwich.
(H.C.R.78)
Offered by Representatives Holcombe of Norwich, Masland of Thetford, and Ode of
Burlington
Whereas, the pioneering State government leadership of former Representative Kathleen C.
Hoyt serves as a model for others, and
Whereas, she was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, on June 6, 1942; was her high
school class valedictorian; graduated from the University of North Carolina (UNC), Greensboro;
and unfortunately, her UNC-Chapel Hill graduate school scholarship was discriminatorily not
renewed because it was transferred to a male student, a terrible decision, and
Whereas, when driving through Vermont, en route to visiting Expo 67 in Montreal, she found
the State to be “the most magical place” and moved here in 1968, meeting her future husband, the
late former Representative Norris “Norrie” Hoyt of Norwich, and propitiously for both, they were
married at the Vermont State House in 1974, and
Whereas, Kathy Hoyt served as director of planning at the Agency of Human Services,
worked at the Vermont Office of Equal Opportunity, and was a member of the Vermont
Commission on Women before taking time to raise her sons, Christopher and Michael, then
resumed her public service at the Department of Employment and Training, where she became
Commissioner, and
Whereas, Governor Madeleine Kunin recognized Kathy Hoyt’s expertise and effectiveness as
an administrator and appointed her Chief of Staff and subsequently, Secretary of Civil and
Military Affairs, and
Whereas, in August 1991, when Lieutenant Governor Howard Dean suddenly became
Governor, he turned to Kathy Hoyt to oversee the expedited transition, returning her to the role of
Chief of Staff, and later appointed her as Vermont’s first female Secretary of Administration, and
Whereas, after the Dean administration’s conclusion, Kathy Hoyt served on nonprofit and
corporate boards, including as a University of Vermont trustee; was an advisor to Governors
Douglas and Shumlin; and concluded her public service as the House member from Norwich,
serving in the seat her husband once held, and
Whereas, after an illustrious life, Kathy Hoyt died at 82 years of age on March 7, 2025 in the
presence of her family, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly extends its condolences to the family of former Representative and
Secretary of Administration Kathleen C. Hoyt of Norwich, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the
family of Kathy Hoyt.