Hoyt Jenkins

Hoyt Madison Jenkins, 82, of the Santuc Community, Union County, passed away on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, after a long battle with a brain tumor, at the Clinton Presbyterian Community. He is preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, William "Bill" Jenkins of Lockhart, SC, Norman "Buck" Jenkins of Santuc and a sister, Dorothy "Dot" Peters of Florida. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Sylvia; and four sisters, Faye Tillotson and Mary Ruth Sanderson of Greenwood, Sara Willis of Santuc, and Grace Peters of Sumter. Hoyt was born to Caroline Bennett Jenkins and James Norman Jenkins on May 11, 1937. He attended Santuc Elementary School and graduated from Union High School in 1957. Hoyt worked for Daniel Construction, building the Bowater Plant and Cone Mill before joining the U. S. Army. Hoyt served in Korea in the DMZ area. After his discharge, he worked in Laurens County before moving to plant maintenance at ESSEX in Gaffney and Cone Mill in Carlisle, SC. He attended Spartanburg Tech in welding and went to work at ABCO in Roebuck. An accidental fall crushed his left heel and lead the surgeon to believe he would never be able to do construction work or climb ladders again. After earning his teaching certificate, he was the welding instructor at Givens Correctional Institution in Simpsonville until the facility closed in 1994. Putting their talents to a different course, since Sylvia was retiring from Dutchman Correctional Institution, they turned to mission work. A nephew invited Hoyt to join him traveling across the U. S. building Baptist churches. Proving the surgeon wrong, Hoyt enjoyed construction work again, including the ladders. Hoyt wanted to know the people he was helping, so less travel is what he chose. In 1994, together they closed up their home and moved to Kentucky for 3 months to help a youth group remodel homes for the poor and the elderly with MCCSWAP (Mennonite Central Committee Service With Appalachian People). During 2001-2003, together they spent 3 weeks each summer in Alaska working with SERVE (Sending Eligible Retired Volunteers Everywhere). Hoyt helped build new cabins and airplane hangar doors to keep pilots warm while working on their planes. The next 11 years, Hoyt worked with MDS (Mennonite Disaster Service), building homes following various types of disasters within the U. S. and Canada. After recovering from a stroke in 2014, Hoyt went twice to Peru, helping with all welding needs. When at home in Wytheville, VA, he helped build several homes for Habitat for Humanity and drove for Road to Recovery, helping transport people to treatment sites. Hoyt has several special nieces, nephews, and cousins that think he was "Extra Special". The family of Hoyt wishes to thank Hospice of Laurens, the staff at Presbyterian Home, family and extended family all across the U. S. A celebration of life service will be 4:00 PM Sunday, March 15, 2020 at Clinton Presbyterian Community. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Laurens County, 1304 Springdale Drive, Clinton, SC 29325; or Clinton Presbyterian Community, 801 Musgrove Street, Clinton, SC 29325. Floyd's North Church Street Chapel To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Hoyt M. Jenkins please visit our Sympathy Store.