Elizabeth Hoying

Elizabeth DeCurtins Hoying, 84, an artist and advocate for the poor and underprivileged, died May 9, 2018 at Edward Hospital in Naperville with family by her side.

Born in Coldwater, OH, to Urban and Margaret DeCurtins, she graduated from the University of Dayton with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts.  She loved art, design and architecture in all forms and was especially proud of the DeCurtins ancestry of Ohio church architects. She relocated from Cincinnati to the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, IL,  with her family in 1968. There, she became active in her children’s schools, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and in other not-for-profits where she championed social justice causes. She served her community in a variety of ways, including as president of the PTA, president of Tri-Con Child Care Center, a day-care center that served underprivileged children; president of Family Service Center of Lake County, an interfaith social service agency; and as an active volunteer at a Waukegan, IL., soup kitchen.

Elizabeth was a gifted pianist, teaching piano lessons as a teenager and young adult to help pay for college. Upon graduation from college, she began her career as an interior decorator in Ohio. Later, as a homemaker in Highland Park, she started a small art design business creating public art on commission, most notably outdoor banners for the city of Highland Park, the Ravinia Music Festival and a suspended sculpture for Chicago’s Water Tower Landmark museum.

Services will be held at St. Patrick’s Residence, 1400 Brookdale Rd., Naperville at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2. The family will welcome visitors at 9 a.m. A celebration of life will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 9 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Coldwater, OH. Visitation will be held prior to the service at 9:30 a.m. Interment will be at St. Elizabeth Catholic Cemetery, Coldwater.

Survivors include two children, Andrew D. Hoying (fiancée Moira Burdi), of Wheeling, IL. and Faith R. Behr (Michael J.) of Naperville, IL; four grandchildren, Travis A. Hoying (Allison) of Glenview; Katherine L. Behr of Columbus, OH; Derek A. Hoying of Schaumburg, IL., and Madeleine A. Behr of Naperville; and one great-grandchild, Calvin H. Kirby-Hoying. She was formerly married to Eugene J. Hoying, Sun City Center, FL

In lieu of flowers, memorials are to St. Patrick’s Residence, 1600 Brookdale Road, Naperville, IL., 60563

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