PABLO — A year after his sudden death, family, friends and colleagues gathered on Monday to dedicate a section of U.S. Highway 93 to Trooper Chris Hoyt.

Hoyt died Aug. 23, 2009, after rescuing his dog from Pump Canal, an irrigation ditch south of Polson. He was 41.

The dedicated stretch runs from Hwy. 93 and Caffrey Rd., and extends to Division St. in Pablo. Large signs on both the northbound and southbound sides of the highway signify the five-mile interval.

His widow, Tammy McGill-Hoyt, said emotions ran high during the day and the ceremony.

“It was just an honor to celebrate Chris’s life,” she said later that day. “He loved working the reservation and he loved his home.”

Tribal Council Chairman E.T. “Bud” Moran, Montana Department of Transportation director Jim Lynch and Col. Mike Tooley of the Montana Highway Patrol were on hand for the dedication and to say a few words about the dedicated trooper.

“It means an awful lot and it’s a tremendous honor,” Lynch said after the ceremony. “Good work doesn’t go unrecognized and Christopher worked hard in Indian Country. It will definitely bring comfort to the family and people who knew him when they drive down that stretch.”

Lynch said a roadway can be dedicated by legislative action or, as in this instance, a request.

He said the family deemed Caffrey Rd. significant and that Division St. and Pablo were areas Hoyt worked hard to keep safe.

The next edition of the Montana state highway map will reflect the stretch as dedicated to Hoyt, Lynch said, and the signs read “Christopher L. Hoyt Memorial Highway MHP Badge #294.”

MHP troopers, Polson and Ronan police, Tribal Law and Order and Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputies were some of the law enforcement agencies to attend the 10 a.m. ceremony.