Laurence Hilmond Chalip, 74, passed away peacefully at home in Virginia on August 17, 2025. Born in San Diego in 1951, he spent his childhood in Alameda, California before heading to Cal Berkeley to study anthropology. Along the way, he picked fruit with migrant farm workers, shelved books at the library, swam, and played guitar for the girl group, The Fabulaires.

He was an avid collector of knowledge, ideas, and experiences. He took his Bachelors degree and his experience as a competitive swimmer to take on a head coaching job in New Zealand. Never one to get complacent or self-satisfied, while there he earned a Masters in Psychology from the University of Waikato. His adventures took him to live in Canada, Ohio, Chicago, Maryland, Australia, Texas, Illinois, and finally Virginia. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Chicago, where he first integrated his sport experience with his policy knowledge to become an internationally recognized scholar in sport policy.

He took his expertise and passion for sport policy on the road, inspiring and improving the vocabulary of students (and a few faculty) at the University of Maryland, Griffith Uni (Gold Coast), University of Texas, University of Illinois, and George Mason. He led programs everywhere he went, challenging the status quo and encouraging innovative thinking and action.

Laurence managed sport organizations in the United States, Australia and New Zealand and was in demand as a consultant on matters of sport policy, marketing and management. He also served as a lecturer at the International Olympic Academy and as the International Chair of Olympism for the International Olympic Committee. He won numerous prestigious awards throughout the world and yet his most highly valued awards were emails from students thanking him for investing in their lives.

Laurence had an uncanny ability to integrate and synthesize knowledge, ideas and lived experience in ways that were creative and challenged the status quo. A conversation with Laurence was both an intimidating and rewarding experience. He could take you from feeling uncertain and ordinary to feeling like you and your ideas were brilliant. This natural gift made him an incredible mentor, teacher, collaborator, and colleague. His kindness and generosity made him a friend.

Laurence loved puns, told terrible jokes, and coveted the tv remote so that he could flip between football and cooking shows. He loved to cook for friends and family, play blues and flamenco guitar, and online shop (although he wouldn’t admit it). Most of all, he loved his work.

Friends often encouraged him to retire or to cut back on his work, but for Laurence his work was play. He liked nothing better than to play with ideas and create solutions to make a difference in the world. Fortunately for all of us, he inspired others to join in the fun and gave us the tools to continue his legacy.

Please join us for some salubrious socialization! Bring your memories and your stories and join us for a Celebration of Life at 2 pm on September 5, 2025 at Heritage Hunt Country Club, 6901 Arthur Hills Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155.  

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