Photo courtesy of Ed Nixon
Dennis Allister Latham died on February 6, 2021 at the age of 80 in Victoria, BC. He would often say he had had a good life but still he didn’t want to leave his wife Barbara of 54 years, whom he adored, or his beloved children Allison (Los Angeles) and Warren (Toronto). He loved his grandchildren Eric, Nate, Calandre, Sullivan and Bronwyn and marvelled at their different talents (they did all eventually figure out that despite his enduring quote “I’m Johnny Cash” that he wasn’t). Playing the euphonium was his life-long love starting from when his mother signed him up for the Moose Jaw Junior Band when he was 10 years old. He could have been “the greatest there ever was” (The Natural) but as he would say, “a pizza can feed a family of four but a musician can’t” so he became a lawyer where he built a successful practice based on his trustworthiness and intelligence. He believed in education – a lot of it – getting his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan and his MBA and his LLB from Queen’s University. He was not known for sugarcoating the truth and was willing to ask direct questions, making sure conversations with him were never boring and certainly never about the weather. He read voraciously, knew everything about baseball there was to know, enjoyed managing his stock portfolio and was always ready to watch his favourite movies again.
He valued his extended family, friends and community and appreciated the love and kindness he received especially in his later years, including from Brian Sagar, Jennifer Wells and their kids Cohen and Marlowe who he thought of as family. He has left an empty seat at the table and we will forever miss him.
Due to COVID19, no memorial will be held. In memory of Dennis, donations may be made to support young musicians at UVIC through the Eugene Dowling Scholarship Fund: https://extrweb.uvic.ca/eugene-dowling-scholarship
Condolences may be offered to the family below.
McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com
77 Responses
I am very sorry about Grandpa Dennis’ passing.
We used to attend Tuba Christmas often to see him play, and he was always happy to perform on the stage. Whenever we visited, he would always be practicing the euphonium, an instrument that I would never have known without him. He is someone that you could never forget, and I will always hold him close to my heart.
Spenser
Grandpa Dennis was someone with an immense presence. He never failed to impress me with his quick wit and deep intelligence. Some of my dearest memories of him are from when we played cards together. I don’t remember winning even once when he joined the table. There was much more I wished to learn from him, but I’ll always cherish the memories we’ve made. Our thoughts and prayers are with the whole family.
Becky and I wanted to write to pass along our deepest condolences for your loss. We were so sorry to hear about Dennis’ passing. We hope that you, Warren and Allison are doing ok in this very tough time.
I am not sure if you knew this, but when I first started practice law after passing the bar admissions course, Dennis offered to provide lunchtime lessons on practical legal skills to Eric (my roommate from law school) and I. We would meet Dennis for lunch at a restaurant on Yates and he would come prepared with materials for that days lessons. He even had tabbed binders prepared for us, so that we could insert his latest precedents and reference material. As we were just at the beginnings of our careers, t kind of mentorship was incredibly valuable. It was so generous of Dennis to share his time and knowledge with us. I spoke with Eric to let him know of Dennis’ passing and he asked that I pass on his condolences as well.
In thinking about Dennis, the movie ‘Bang the Drum Slowly’ came to mind. I am not sure if it was a favourite of his or whether it was just his love of anything and everything baseball that drew him to the movie, but I remember him talking about it on a number of occasions. I think that it is time that I find it and watch it.
Again, I am so sorry for your loss. All the best to you are your family.
Chris Robb
Dear Barbara,
I am so sorry to hear of Dennis’ passing. He and I went to Prince Arthur School. When we finished grade four, Dennis, another student, whom I don’t remember, and I were moved directly into grade six. We got the reputation of being ‘smart’, but we ended up being a year younger than the rest of our CCI graduating class.
Even though we haven’t been in contact since the CCI reunion , I am so glad that you connected and passed on the news of his passing.
It is so nice that your family has been able to be with you. Travelling is so difficult right now.
Ethel
We all have memories of Dennis.
His conversation opener “Are you happy?” “Hi,I’m Dennis Latham, I’m your brother in law “ “ Have you got your things in order” “You’ve got a nice place here”. “ you are lucky to live in MJ” “Should I buy some beer?”. I loved watching Dennis drink beer. Sip sip sip then sip sip sip. Most people quaff beers. Not Dennis. It could be 90 degrees….sip sip sip. He could have been employed in at least three areas: Law, music and plumber. He had the qualifications for all. Just and knowledgeable; talented and melodious; the pant line and bum!
Those that aren’t forgotten are never lost.
Sip sip sip. Fred
Dear Barb and Family – I was saddened to hear of the news regarding your very special Dennis . I knew Dennis and thoroughly enjoyed his company , through the fact that we were both in the Legal Profession and that we shared a Saskatchewan background . I recall clearly his lively conversation and that sparkling twinkle in his eye . We talked of a number of things , especially family .He often spoke of you Barb and of your children and( as time went by) , the grandchildren with clear devotion and genuine affection .He was so proud of all of you . Once I left practice for the bench I saw Dennis less frequently ( my loss ) as it seems he never found himself in court ( for any reason )! And after he retired from practice I recall once chatting with him at an intermission at a concert at Alex Goulden where he was playing with a group . It was a lovely interlude .
My condolences to you ; he was a good man .
We so enjoyed Dennis’ open-air concerts from over the hedges. Sincere condolences from the DePape family.
I knew Dennis as a fellow little league coach, personal lawyer and good friend. Simply put, Dennis was brilliant. I’ve told many friends of mine about this amazing man who once was 5 minutes into a serious business discussion with me then suddenly shifted for another 5 to a casual Q & A about baseball then shifted back to the exact spot he left in the first place. RIP my friend.
Franklin Hammer , Paul Hammer, Neighbours of Dennis and Barbara Latham, would like to pass on our condolences to Barbara and the Latham family, on the passing of Dennis.
We will miss the playing of Dennis and his tuba musical melodies, that we enjoyed listening to, on summer evenings.
Although Dennis practiced law in the building next to my own office, I really got to know him as a member of our book club. He had a unique system for rating books and asked the most interesting questions to our group. We had our first book club meeting without Dennis tonight. We reminisced about him and offered a toast. My heartfelt condolences to his family. We will all miss him.