Investment Manager, Conservationist, Sportsman, long-time resident of Brookline, Mass., Hooker Talcott, Jr. died two days after his 89th birthday, on July 22, 2021, of complications from cancer. Jane McCurrach Talcott, his wife of 64 years, was at his side; their three daughters were nearby. Born in New York City in 1932, he attended The Buckley School. During World War II he lived in Washington, D.C., as his father served in the US Navy. He graduated from St. Paul's School (1950) and Princeton University (1954) and studied business at NYU. During his senior year at Princeton, he met Jane, a fellow New Yorker and Smith College student, at a club dance near their families' summer homes in New Jersey, "Hooks Farm" in Atlantic Highlands and the McCurrachs' Monmouth Beach house. They were married in Rumson in 1956, following his army service in Europe. Hooker worked in New York for J.P. Morgan and then for the Talcott National Corporation in New York, Chicago, and Boston. He and Jane chose Boston as home for their family in 1961. As Sr. Vice President at John Hancock in the bond department, he saw and seized the opportunity of high yield investing. He subsequently started and led the high-yield investment group at Eaton Vance. When Hooker retired in 1997, one of the funds he managed ranked #1 in performance in every time period, which he called "a royal flush." His favorite business trips were to New York, where he kept up with many friends and associations. From investment research trips around the U.S. and the world, he brought back knowledge and gifts to his family. A father of daughters and brother to three sisters (Katharine, Suzanne, Gertrude), he was a champion of women. He wrote his college thesis on the author Willa Cather. Hooker was deeply committed to preserving nature and to his work for the Connecticut River Conservancy, The Trustees of Reservations, Center for Plant Conservation, and Mass Audubon. He was an avid reader, particularly of histories, and a lover of the arts, music, literature, and travel. Family road trips were punctuated by stops at each and every historical marker. A true sportsman, Hooker played varsity ice hockey and rugby at Princeton, hunted ducks and upland game, and competed on tennis courts in Seabright (NJ) and in Essex, Edgartown, and Brookline (MA). He played squash at The Union Boat Club (Boston), where he was President 1968-71. Hooker was in his element cultivating his garden in Brookline; racing his Rhodes 19 in Vineyard waters; running his English setters; surfcasting on the Atlantic; and fly-fishing and hiking as a child in the Adirondacks. His outdoor adventures continued in Ipswich, Mass., and Lower Waterford, Vt., near a family home on the Connecticut River. His primary residence since 2013 was Fox Hill Village (Westwood, MA). Hooker's sense of justice and his love of people propelled his good work in all spheres. He was a reassuring guide, a leader, a mentor to many. He served for decades at the Church of the Redeemer. His faith was profound and, to his last days, he saw the best in any situation. He will be missed by many, especially wife Jane; daughters Julia, Barbara, and Margaret and their husbands, James Meigs, Douglas Borchard, and Scott Scharer, all in the Boston area; eight grandchildren, Sam (and wife Erin), Ramsey (and wife Erin), Ben (and bride-to-be Laura), Stoddard, Isabel, Miles, William, and Peter; and two great-granddaughters. Funeral service will be held August 3 at 2pm at the Church of the Redeemer (Chestnut Hill) and online, details at redeemerchestnuthill.org In lieu of flowers, donate to Connecticut River Conservancy, 15 Bank Row, Greenfield, MA 01301, ctriver.org Service will be at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill MA on Tuesday, August 3 at 2PM. More info about the church at https://www.redeemerchestnuthill.org/ If you wish to be there virtually…. here are the links. Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/redeemerchestnuthill/videos/?ref=page_internal YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuF2ATr93WfFYaj4XlyKKDw