Laurie was born in 1924 to Minnie and William Hoare in Timaru, the tenth of twelve children. He attended Paeroa West Primary School and Timaru Technical College. After leaving school at sixteen, he started his working life with a job at the Timaru Pottery Works. During his time at the pottery works he managed to chop off half of his little finger which he fed to the cat! He was paid £50 compensation which was quite a sum in those day and was off work for three months. Over the years he would love recounting tall tales to the grandchildren of how he lost that finger!!!  

Times were hard and to help make ends meet, Laurie would go rabbiting with his brother in law Bob Graham. It was about this time he began his lifelong love of the bagpipes and joined the Timaru Highland Pipe Band. 

In 1943, Laurie went into the Army and was training at Burnham Army Camp until the war ended. He made some life long friends there. It was during this time he met Ngaira Rees at a dance. She was a nurse doing her training in Timaru. They married in 1947. Around this time he went to work with his brother Frank at Timaru Tyres .

In 1950 he was offered a job at the Denniston coal mine that came with a house if he would play for the Birchfield Pipe Band, near Wesport. With a growing family, this was a good opportunity.
He worked as a trucker, driving the horses underground to pull the empty trucks to the coal face. He would be picked up by Miners bus each day and be driven the nerve shattering journey up the hill! Denniston was an unforgiving and dangerous environment and a hard living for Laurie as he sought to support his family which now included Beverley, Graeame, Murray, Denise, Ian, Bryan and Alan.

The family had moved from Birchfield to Westport and lived in Romily Street, but by 1960 it was decided to move to Christchurch to provide better opportunities for the children. Ngaira and Laurie managed to get a state advances loan and build a large house in Beatrice Place, Avonhead, an up and coming area in those days.

Laurie worked in a number of jobs in Christchurch including working in a flour milling company as a Storeman,  a school caretaker and an engineer in a company making tyre moulds. He joined and became a life member of the Riccarton Pipe Band – many weekends were taken up at band competitions all over Canterbury. He also tutored many up and coming players.

Tragically in 1977, Ngaira died of a heart attack after a few years of bad health which had a huge impact on the family.

Laurie found happiness again when he met up with Evelyn who he had known in his younger days in Timaru.They settled in Timaru, and then to Rangiora and eventually Christchurch.
As the bagpipes became less of a focus in his life, Laurie and Evelyn discovered a love of dancing and would spend much of their social time at various dances around Christchurch. Keeping up with their family and the now numerous grandchildren also kept them busy.
Laurie was known as the Mayor of Hinton Place and you could be assured that wherever they lived, the paths would be swept two or three times a day. Even in the latter few years, he was known to disappear up the road with his broom to sweep up some wayward leaves.

Laurie was a great story teller and a great musician. At the various family reunions over the years the instruments would come out and he would play the accordion along with his brothers and sisters and other family members.

Evelyn was a tower of strength to Laurie for over 37 years and lovingly cared for him especially over the last few years of his life when his health was declining.
He had a great sense of humour which was undiminished even during his last days when it shone through and made everyone laugh instead of crying.


His funeral was well attended with all his family, friends and relatives around him.