Shirley Croslin Hoy

Shirley Croslin Hoy

January 1, 1935 – February 23, 2020

Shirley Arthena Croslin (Hoy) was the first baby born in West Frankfort, IL on January 1st, 1935 – “Little Miss 1935”.

She was raised in West Frankfort until she moved to Evansville, IN after high school graduation.  Shirley had a gift for singing and was involved in singing for churches and evangelical radio shows for many years.  As she was singing one night, a tall handsome man walked in the back of a church and unbeknownst to Shirley, he said to his friends “I’m going to marry that girl”.  She soon met the love of her life, David Hoy.

Shirley and David were married in June, 1953 in Evansville, IN and then immediately left for 6-months of evangelistic work in Europe.  After the tour in Europe they settled in New York City.

David became a well-known psychic and Shirley managed his career until his sudden death in April 1981.

After suffering the tremendous loss of her husband, she worked in the Real Estate business for a time, then learned that the Rotary Club needed a secretary.  She took over that position and broke barriers by becoming the first woman to be inducted into the Paducah Rotary Club.  She was also awarded a Paul Harris Fellow award.  She was very proud of her accomplishments during her 18 years at Rotary; the membership almost doubled for one.  In 1987 after there had been two Quilt Shows here, Meredith Schraeder, founder of AQS, asked Shirley if Rotary would consider having some kind of activity at another location.  At that time Rotarians were looking for a new fund-raising vehicle for a new scholarship/loan program for college students in need of financial aid.  That’s how the Rotary Antique Quilt Show was born.  When Shirley retired in 2002, after 14 shows, there had been over $546,000 raised for the Rotary Education Assistance Program (REAP).

After retirement she enjoyed spending time with her family.

She is survived by her beloved children Jonathan David (Mary Marshall) Hoy, Kimberly Croslin Hoy, and Van Andrew (Marta Metzger) Hoy; grandchildren, Hannah (Andrew) Hammonds, Zachary David Hoy, Sam Corbett Hoy and David Linton Hoy; great-grandchildren, Eleanor Ruth Hammonds, Marshall Garcia Hammonds and Edith Molly Hammonds;  nieces, great-nieces and many special friends (and furbabies) who mean so much.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. David Hoy; her parents, Arthur and Cena Croslin of West Frankfort, IL; and two sisters, June (Rep. Kenneth) Gray and Afton (Wayne) Heston.

Visitation will be held 1:00 p.m., Sunday, March 1, at First Presbyterian Church, 200 N. 7th Street, Paducah, KY. Service to follow at 3:00 p.m.