Palmer Joseph Hoyt

On the Passing of Our Beloved PJ 

Saying goodbye to our beloved PJ has been the hardest thing we have ever done. Palmer Joseph Hoyt was born November 10, 1981 and lived a full and fantastic 41 years until his unexpected passing on July 20, 2023.

Palmer was kind, thoughtful and inclusive.  He was always able to look beyond the ‘superficial’ and see the soul and intent of his fellow beings.  Palmer received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Colorado in Boulder and his Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver.

He defended fellow students from bullies in grade school at Cherry Hills Village Elementary.  During his time at West Middle School, he began attending the legendary Geneva Glen Camp in Indian Hills Colorado, that teaches high moral values, using a “Camelot” model.  Being a natural leader, he was crowned “King of the Glen” as he pulled the sword from the stone with “Queen Gwenevere” at his side.

Palmer went on to became a competitive ski racer at CU, and led high ski adventure tours with younger students to the Andes, New Zealand, Switzerland and of course in our own beloved Colorado and Idaho mountains.   

As a High School junior he became an American Field Service foreign exchange student and lived in southern Switzerland (with the Family Brass) amid the archipelago of 300 ski areas, refining his technique so he could teach others. He wrote a complete ski-technique manual based on a system he called “Love to Ski”.

He became a sought-after skiing expert and model, gracing the pages and covers of magazines from New Zealand to Germany to Aspen and Vail.  Along with his passion for skiing he was the catcher on his high school baseball team and the center for the football team, as well as participating in debate and the school play, while he tutored other students employing his “Christ-like” caring approach to life. 

After he graduated from the University of Colorado with a finance degree he continued on to coach the CU Freestyle ski team so it could attend a world competition, receiving a “Coach of the Year” award.   At that awards ceremony, numerous parents stood in tears to tell how their children were nearly “flunking out” of college until they joined the ski team and how Palmer built their self-esteem, enhanced their skiing skills and helped them understand the importance of academics as the key to their pathway forward in life.  

Palmer is survived by his 10-year-old daughter, Bella Hoyt, a competitive gymnast whose mother, Emmy Roobottom, provides excellent parental leadership and guidance; his sisters Tracy Hoyt and Jennifer Hoyt Coffey and his parents Wes and Sandy Hoyt.

He is the grandson and namesake of the late, Edwin Palmer “EP” Hoyt, the Editor and Publisher of the Denver Post from 1946 to 1969, who built the newspaper into the center of what was termed the “Rocky Mountain Empire” and was recognized as a great civil rights leader of his time.  

At the time of his demise, Palmer was an Investment Advisor with Raymond James, and a Partner in the Williams Wealth Management Group, headed by Fred Williams. 

Palmer’s family said that with his determination, high-energy and strong work ethic he accomplished enough to fill two lifetimes, despite having to overcome the effects of a traumatic brain injury that he sustained in a car accident while on the way to ski-team practice in Winter Park when he was 20 years old.  

Palmer considered his greatest achievement to be the relationships he fostered with his daughter, Bella, his nuclear family and beloved friends and students.  He will be sorely missed by all.

Please join the family in celebrating Palmer's life on Saturday, August 12, 2023 from 11am-2pm at The Golden Community Center, 1470 10th Street, Golden, CO  80401.

Please click the link below to join the service virtually:

https://zoom.us/j/95192948922 (https://zoom.us/j/95192948922)

Or One tap mobile :

    +17193594580,,95192948922# US

    +16694449171,,951929489

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Webinar ID: 951 9294 8922

Contributions will be gratefully accepted into the Allison Isabella Hoyt Education Fund, c/o, Wes Hoyt, 6381 Umber Circle, Golden, CO 80403.