Rev. George "Phil" Hoy

His family will remember him best as a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. The congregations of the seven churches he served will remember him as a caring pastor and friend who challenged them with his life as well as his words to live their beliefs. Members of the community at large will remember him as a tireless advocate for the common good in his varied roles as executive director of the Tri-State Food Bank for 13 years, Vanderburgh County Councilman for 12 years, a member of the Indiana House of Representatives for four years, and chair of the Evansville CROP Hunger Walk for more than 40 years.

Born Feb. 5, 1937 to Clarence and Margaret Hoy, Phil was a self-described “flood baby” whose mother took the last train out of Evansville to Indianapolis where he was born. He said each time his mother told the story the water was a little higher than the time before. He never lost that sense of humor nor did he ever grow weary in doing what was right.

An ordained minister for 67 years, 63 of them in the United Church of Christ, he spent his life on the frontlines of the struggle for peace and justice. His civil rights work began in 1963, when he organized a local fundraising effort for the families of the four young girls killed in the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. He co-chaired the community coalition for the establishment of an Open Housing Ordinance in Evansville in 1968. Later he would become the first spiritual and political leader in Evansville to speak out for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

Although he was a strong believer in the separation of church and state, he was interested in both politics and religion. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science with minors in music and English from Kentucky Wesleyan College in 1954. In 1962 he received his Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he majored in pastoral psychology and Biblical studies and minored in Biblical archaeology. He began his ministerial work as a Baptist preacher before joining the UCC in 1962.

In a career that was as colorful as he was, Phil was the founding director of the Metropolitan Evansville Youth Service Bureau, taught religion, humanities and social work at Brescia University, and was a part-time chaplain at Evansville State Hospital. He spent a year as a volunteer at Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Georgia, where his late wife, Bobbie, was administrative director.

He and Bobbie were married for 29 years, and were as devoted to social justice causes as they were to each other and their four children. One of his proudest memories was doing a dialogue sermon with her at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor. The Tri-State Food Bank, with a naming donation from East Side Christian Church upon its closing, named its new office building in honor of Phil and Bobbie, who was the Food Bank’s first part-time director until her death in 1987.

Phil found love again with Sandra, a writer who he called “my editor.” They were married for 26 years and worked side by side for the causes they both believed in, she as treasurer to his chair of the CROP Hunger Walk and as co-chairs of Peace with Justice events at his last church, Zion UCC in Henderson.

Among the honors Phil received through his life (two single-spaced typewritten pages of them) were the Sagamore of the Wabash from Gov. Frank O’Bannon, the Distinguished Hoosier Award from Gov. Mitch Daniels, the Human Relations Commission’s Sadelle Berger Award for commitment to civil and human rights, the Tri-State Alliance’s Thomas R. Earley Humanitarian Award for dedicated service to the cause of HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care, the Indiana Religious Coalition for Reproductive Rights’ Faith and Freedom Award for Advocacy, the Izaak Walton League’s Environmental Legislator of the Year, the Central High School Hall of Fame, and the International Brotherhood of Magicians’ Order of Merlin. (Yes, he was a magician too, starting as a teenager with his older brother David.) He was chaplain of the Central Labor Council for many years and served on the boards of numerous charities, most recently as a founding board member of TOUCH, Inc., which provides nonmedical financial assistance to cancer patients in Vanderburgh and Warrick counties.

When he wasn’t being “a rebel without a pause,” as he was affectionately dubbed by his daughter Rene’, he loved singing, Evansville Philharmonic concerts, the theater, and model trains, and played Herr Drosselmeyer in productions of “The Nutcracker” with his dancer daughter Sherri and her husband, Tom. In addition to public acts of wizardry, he performed a magic show for every grandchild’s fifth birthday.

He is survived by his wife, Sandra; daughters Rene’ (Bill) Riegle of Normal, IL, and Sherri (Tom) Haas of Evansville; son Matthew (Kim Williams) Hoy of Evansville; stepchildren Wendy Bredhold and Ben Knipe, both of Evansville; grandchildren Philip (John Klempir) Riegle, Ben Riegle, Josh (Lauren) Haas, Will Haas, Samantha Haas, Syi Conner, Jasmine (Harley Ekis) Hoy, Mandi (Joaquin Cunningham) Hoy, Lynzie Hoy, Makenzie (Tyvone Guin) Hoy, Cody Hoy, Kyndel (Phillip) Craig, Barbara (Braden) Straw, Caroline (Christian) Dudley, Shane (Sarah) Johnson, and Beatrice Bredhold; great-grandchildren Landon and Danielle Haas, Ezekiel Hoy, Camden Travelstead, Nasir and Quadir Cunningham, Khalil Guin, Natalie and Andrew Craig, Noah Straw, Carter and Collins Dudley, and Sadie and Sofie Johnson; and a host of well-loved friends and extended family.

In addition to his parents and first wife, Bobbie, Phil was preceded in death by his brother David, sister Margie, grandson Adam Kent Riegle, foster son Rick Johnson and his wife Julie, and a favorite niece Melody Campbell.

Friends and family are invited to a celebration of Phil’s life at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at First Baptist Church, 320 Cherry St., where his mother taught Sunday School for more than 50 years. Members of Ring 56 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians will take part in a Broken Wand ceremony, followed by the memorial service led by Phil’s son-in-law, the Rev. William Riegle, a retired UCC minister. Visitation will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19, at First Baptist. Guests may park in the large parking lot next to the church and enter at the main entrance on Cherry Street. An elevator is available at the Fourth Street entrance. Floral deliveries can be made after 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19. To enter, call the number on the door. Alexander Funeral Home - North Chapel is handling the arrangements.

Friends, if they wish, may make donations in Phil’s memory to TOUCH, Inc., the Tri-State Food Bank (tristatefoodbank.org), or the Adam Kent Riegle Professional Development Fund at Illinois State University. TOUCH donations may be mailed to 904 S. St. James Blvd, Evansville, IN 47714 or made online at touchindiana.org. The mailing address for the fund in memory of Adam is: Educational Administration and Foundations, EAF 5900, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-5900. Make checks to EAF and note that it’s for Adam’s fund.

Phil’s family is grateful to the compassionate caregivers of Safe in Home, Faith Personal Care, and Deaconess Hospice and Palliative Care.

Condolences may be made online at www.AlexanderNorthChapel.com