Remembering Earle Labor
Centenary President Emeritus Dr. Donald Webb (left) with Dr. Earle Labor.
Dr. Earle Gene Labor of Shreveport, who was generally accepted as the world’s foremost Jack London scholar, passed away on September 15, 2022. He was a beloved professor at Centenary College for over 40 years as well as Director of the Jack London Research Center. Selected as Southern Methodist University’s Outstanding Senior Man in 1949, Dr. Labor was appointed to a Fulbright lectureship at the University of Aarhus, Denmark and was chosen as Louisiana Humanist of the Year in 1991. He edited numerous volumes of London’s works and authored the definitive London biography, Jack London: An American Life, for which he received the coveted Golden Spur award, as well as a memoir, The Far Music.
Dr. Labor was born in Tuskahoma, OK, on March 3, 1928; he earned his BA and MA degrees from Southern Methodist University and his PhD from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.
In addition to his parents, Dr. Labor is preceded in death by his wife, Betty. Dr. Labor is survived by his wife Gayle; children Royce (Rhonda), Phillips Kirk (Penny), Earle Kyle (Helen Taylor), Isabel Hamiter (Jimmy), and Andrea; and grandsons Erik (Julia), Christian, and Harrison.
A memorial service was held at Centenary College’s Brown Chapel on Saturday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m. The family asks that any memorial contributions be made to the Betty Labor Fund at Centenary College.
Obituary provided by the Labor family. All photos courtesy of the Centenary College Archives.
