Donald Ray Hoy

January 13, 1958 ~ September 9, 2021

Donald Ray Hoy, 63, went to be with his Heavenly Father on September 9, 2021. He was a devoted husband, father, pawpaw, brother, friend, and pastor. He will dearly be missed.

Visitation will be held Friday, September 17, 2021 at Southside Baptist Church from 5:00pm until 8:00pm. Visitation on Saturday, September 18, 2021 will be held at First Baptist Church of Denham Springs beginning at 9:00am. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am. Burial will follow in Evergreen Memorial Park.

He is survived by his wife, Susan, of 41 years, his daughter Stephanie and husband Perry Bayly; his son Steven and his wife Kayla; five grandchildren, Nikolas and Michael Gonthier, Hayden and Charlee Bayly, and Tanner Ray Hoy. In addition to his wife, children, and grandchildren, Don is survived by his mother-in-law, Bertie Avants, his three brothers: Bob of San Diego, California; John and his wife Pam of Saraland, Alabama; and Bill and his wife, Debbie of Crawford, Texas.

Don is preceded in death by his parents, Edwin and Lillie Mae Hoy and his son Daniel Ray. In 1976 he graduated from Istrouma High School, received his BA from Southeastern Louisiana University, and his Master of Divinity at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Don served in churches in Louisiana and Mississippi during his ministry from 1980-present. He also served as Civil Air Patrol Chaplain and a hospice chaplain with Bridgeway.

Don had an avid love for woodworking and flying. So much so, that he was in the process of building his own plane.

He now has gained his mansion prepared for Him by the Savior he loved and in whose presence Don now lives forever. We are certain the reunion with Daniel must surely have been a scene to behold. Don’s certain hope was in a life with Christ beyond the grave, enabling all of us to declare with the Apostle Paul, from whose text Don loved to preach: “We grieve, but not as those without hope.”

Don willingly laid down his life for his family and for the people he loved and served. Susan’s cousin, Mercer, may have summed up Don’s life best when the day after his death, she remarked, “Don was a sermon to see.” May we all leave such a legacy.