William Nason Hoyer

1931 - 2025

William Nason Hoyer
01/30/1931 - 06/12/2025
William "Bill" Nason Hoyer, age 94, son of Willard and Helen Hoyer of Erie, PA and Ft. Lauderdale, FL, passed away on June 12, 2025. He was preceded in death by his wife of 67 years, Charlotte G. Hoyer, in 2021, and is survived by their two daughters, Charlotte McDermott and Mina Wheless of Houston, two granddaughters, Charlotte Muhl in NY and Anna Wheless in NC, and by his younger sister Louise Hinton in Florida, and her sons Russ Hinton, also in Florida, and Edward Hinton in Alabama.

Bill was born in Erie, Pennsylvania January 30, 1931 and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for high school where he excelled at academics, music and art, and thrived in the Florida outdoors enjoying sailing and deep-sea fishing. He and his musical pals formed a band in which he played the clarinet, saxophone, and keyboard, and they performed Big Band and Swing numbers at numerous dances and weddings. Despite having scattered across the country, Bill and his similarly professionally accomplished high school friends kept up their strong friendships and met annually in Florida for adventures and camaraderie for over 70 years.

After high school, although he considered becoming a professional musician, Bill studied architecture at Georgia Tech and played in its marching band and other bands in Atlanta, before graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1953. He was an ROTC member while at Georgia Tech and reported to duty after graduation. Following his honorable discharge as a Second Lieutenant, Infantry, from the Army Reserve in 1953 due to a heart murmur, he began his architecture practice in Florida, working on residential and commercial projects.

That was also the year Bill began courting Charlotte Gambill when they were introduced by Bill's sister Louise who attended Stetson University in Florida with Charlotte. Charlotte and Bill were married in 1954 at Rock Springs Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, where Charlotte grew up. Two years later, Bill designed and built their first home as a mid-century modern house in Fort Lauderdale, before the family moved to Houston, Texas in 1960.

In Houston, Bill worked on a number of residential and commercial projects for Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson. After the firm managed the on-site construction of the Astrodome as Associate Architects, Bill, who had a keen interest in and knowledge of sports, frequented Astros games with his young daughters at the Dome where they enjoyed their terrific season seats at the space-age iconic ballpark for years.

At WMCA, which later became Morris & Associates, Bill was Project Architect for a number of buildings, including the Fluor Office Building, the First City East Building, the KPRC TV/ Radio Facility, and the Harris County Texas Family Law Center in Houston, Texas; the Texas Commerce Plaza in Corpus Christi, Texas; the Stephen F. Austin State University Coliseum in Nacogdoches, Texas; the Prairie View A&M Engineering Building in Prairie View, Texas; and the Chevron Office Park Buildings in San Ramon, California, among other projects.

Bill was a member of the AIA and practiced at Morris Architects for 27 years, including as Partner with the firm for 19 years, before retiring in 1989.

In the community, Bill served in various capacities at First Presbyterian Church and St. John the Divine in Houston and was politically active in city initiatives and for Republican Party issues. He was a dedicated poll watcher for his precinct for decades. In his spare time, Bill custom-designed and built furniture, created art pieces, and enjoyed travelling with his wife to visit different museums and old cities of architectural and historical interest. Back at home, Bill was a regular breakfast patron of Avalon Drug Store and was a devoted dad-fan of Mina's SJS and Stanford sports.

In his later years, Bill remained a fervent fan of the Astros and Georgia Tech football, and always looked forward to watching sports and exchanging commentary on stats and strategy with his son-in-law, Joe McDermott, who can attest to how delighted Bill was when his long faithfulness to the Astros paid off with the team's recent World Series championships.

Bill's talent for engineering and precision showed in everything he undertook, including perfect hand lettering and his rapidly completing the NYT and WSJ word and number puzzles in ink. He was a wordsmith and math whiz, and while he was known to be more of a quiet thinker, it was his prodigious punning that regularly caught others off-guard for a bit of fun. Notably, Bill kept up his interest in music throughout his life and was gratified to see his two granddaughters become avid musicians, as well as scientists.

Bill Hoyer was a loving son, brother, devoted husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, and friend, and a professional of high competency and integrity who contributed to the making of family and community and to the skyline of Houston. We shall miss him and his steadfast duty to responsibility and attention to detail, as well as his artistic inspiration and dedication to the lighter side of wordplay. His family is grateful for Bill's lifelong demonstration of grit, grace, and good humor.

On June 29, 2025, a private service with family and friends was held at Glenwood Cemetery of Houston, Texas where Bill was reunited with his wife Charlotte.