Richard ‘Ric’ D. Hoyt, age 76, of Grove, Oklahoma passed away in Tulsa, Oklahoma on March 12, 2023. Ric was born on March 1, 1947 in Sacramento, Calif., to Walter and Marian (Blair) Hoyt Jr.  He attended Elk Grove High School, graduating with the class of 1964. He then attended Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, earning a degree in Animal Science.  

Ric married his soul mate, Judy Ann Catlett, on July 12, 1968, in Elk Grove, Calif. They eventually made their home in Burns.  

Ric was a cattle rancher and became an icon in the cattle industry. He was a past President of the American Shorthorn Association, and proudly served on the Board of the National Cattlemen’s Association, as well as serving as a past Chairman of the NCA Political Action Committee. He was a respected livestock judge and traveled all over the world, including Australia, Argentina and Canada, just to name a few. He, with his brothers and sister, were once the nations’ largest producers of Registered Shorthorn Cattle. Later in life he purchased and ran the Intermountain Livestock auction yard in La Grande.

He and Judy “retired” in 2017 and relocated to Grove, Okla., where he obtained his Realtor License and worked with Solid Rock Realtors. In addition to his extensive resume as a cattleman, he was a member of the Elks Lodge and the Cowboy Junction Church in Vinita. He was larger than life, not only in stature, but also in personality. He loved his family and was the best “Dad and Poppy in the world,” always just a phone call away when one of them needed his encyclopedic knowledge. If there were toddlers around, you can be sure Ric was carrying them around explaining life’s mysteries to them.  Ric made friends of everyone, forgot no one, and no matter where on earth he traveled, he was sure to run into someone he knew, it was uncanny.    

Ric was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Jay and Bob Hoyt; and sister, Ann Hoyt. Left to cherish his memory, his wife, Judy; children, Cyndilin Hoyt of Grove, Okla., Kendra Gillette and husband Sweeny of Vinita, Richard Hoyt Jr. and wife Michelle of Gainesville, N.Y., and Preston Hoyt and wife Charissa of Rogers, Ark.; grandchildren, Payton, Madison, Ashley, Blair, Louie, Keisha, Casey, Sammy, Olivia, Sterling, Mara, Richard III, Miranda, Bailey, Anthony, Landien, Josh and Brylen;  great-grandchildren, Brynlee, Faith, Jax, Willow, Jasper, Pepper, Iva, Haelyn, Tate, Sunnie, Emma, Violet and Quinn; he is also survived by his brothers, Blair (Jan), Seth (Barbara), Steve (Vicki), Jeff (Robin); and sister, Jana (Andy) Root; as well as many friends and extended family.

A Memorial Service was held on Saturday, March 18 at 11 a.m. at Cowboy Junction Church in Vinita, Okla. Arrangements entrusted to Nichols-Stephens Funeral & Cremation Services, Grove, Okla.