POLSON – It comes as no surprise that off-duty Montana Highway Patrol Officer Chris Hoyt died while trying to help someone.
Providing service to others was his life’s mantra since he decided to become a highway patrol officer after a high school “career day” in 1986.
The Polson native drowned Sunday morning after he jumped into an irrigation canal south of town to rescue his yellow Lab retriever.
“Knowing Chris, he couldn’t do anything different,” said Col. Mike Tooley, the Patrol’s chief administrator.
Rows of law enforcement officers and emergency service personnel and bleachers filled with community members gathered at Linderman School gymnasium Thursday to celebrate the life of a man who dedicated himself to making a difference.
A five-minute uniformed procession led by members of the Great Scot bagpipe band preceded the 90-minute service attended by more than 600 people. A six-person Highway Patrol honor guard accompanied the six-and-a-year veteran of the Patrol’s remains.
“He was truly committed to public service and always strove to be the best he could be,” said Rev. John Payne.
He described Hoyt simply as a “WYSIWYG.”What you see is what you get.
Hoyt, 41, had a playful, even mischievous leisure side. But when he was on duty he was serious, even stoic, dedicating his work shift to making the highways safer by aggressively making traffic stops and writing citations.
“He chose to make a difference and he did,” said Tooley, crediting Hoyt with decreasing the traffic fatality count in Lake County.
“He was a performer among performers,” he added.
“It’s never easy to say goodbye to someone who meant so much to so many people,” said Payne. “He was a valued friend to everyone who knew him.’
Hoyt didn’t take a direct route to the Montana Highway Patrol, choosing instead to work as a welder in Wyoming for five years after graduating from Polson High School in 1986, before returning to his home to the Big Arm area to work construction with his father.
He was hired by Highway Patrol in 2002 and took his first assignment in St. Ignatius for one year before transferring to Polson.
“Every day with Chris was a pleasure,” said Tammy McGill, Hoyt’s girlfriend, in a letter read by Payne. “He took such pleasure in helping others.”
The Kalispell Montana Highway Patrol detachment has lost four officers in less than two years, said Tooley, making Hoyt’s death even more difficult.
Hoyt carried in his pocket the Highway Patrol’s challenge coin emblazoned with the words “service, integrity and respect,” ideals that epitomized his life.
Benefit funds for Hoyt’s three sons, Traven, Kellen, and Morgan have been established at First Citizens and First Interstate banks in Polson.