Laurence Edward Hooper37, passed away peacefully in his home on January 25, 2019, after enduring cancer for several years.

Laurence was born in London, United Kingdom, the oldest of four. As a young man he showed an expansive and brilliant mind, sharing his love of music, literature, language, history, and sports with his younger siblings and friends. A natural teacher, he encouraged those dear to him to be inquisitive, critical, and appreciative of culture in all its forms.

At 18 he began his studies at Cambridge University, where he was introduced to the writings of the medieval Italian author Dante Alighieri, who proved a critical figure in his intellectual life. A term studying abroad in Rome, Italy, solidified Laurence's love for the language and culture of Italy, eventually leading him to earn a master's and doctorate in Italian Studies from Cambridge and to pursue a career as professor of Italian literature.

In 2009, Laurence made his home in the United States, beginning as the Devers Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Notre Dame. Charming, funny, and a dazzling conversationalist who could speak on any topic, he quickly made many dear friends among the faculty and graduate students, including, and especially, his wife, Elizabeth Franklin.

Laurence moved to Chicago in 2010 as recipient of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Research Fellowship at the University of Chicago. Elizabeth joined Laurence in Hyde Park, in 2011, and they married the following year. In 2013, they welcomed their beloved son, Teddy.

Laurence's scholarly trajectory kept them moving: first to Wesleyan University in 2013, and then a year later to Dartmouth College, where he was appointed Assistant Professor of French and Italian. In spite of a crushing diagnosis in late-2014 and arduous periods of treatment, Laurence's passion for his work could not be diminished; he pressed on with publishing, translating, organizing a conference, and writing his book on the meaning of exile in the writings of Dante. Laurence was equally dedicated to teaching and mentoring as he was to his research. He was especially supportive towards students who struggled to find their footing in university life and was committed to the idea that an educator's obligations exceed what could be articulated in a syllabus or the classroom"€"a devotion reflected in his students' outpouring of appreciation and affection over the last months and years.

Above all else, Laurence was deeply devoted to his young family that sustained him through his illness, and for whom he frequently expressed immense love and gratitude. His time with them was far too brief.

Laurence is survived by his wife Elizabeth Franklin and son Edward ("Teddy") Franklin-Hooper, his mother Mary, his sisters Catherine Hooper, Jules Joanne Gleeson, Danielle Cahill, and his brother-in-law Barry Cahill. He is lovingly remembered by his many friends around the world.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Denis Cathedral in Hanover, New Hampshire, on Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home of Hanover, NH.