Wm Larry Latham

William "Larry" Latham of Madison, Mississippi, died on February 14, 2025,
with Lou Ellen, his loving wife, partner, and soul mate for more than 22
years by his side.
Larry, as he was known to all, and as"Willie" to very close friends, was born
in Grenada, Mississippi, on September 22, 1943. The war in Europe was
raging. William Daniel "Bill" Latham and his mother Rubye Skelton Latham
were his proud parents.
Attending Grenada High School, Larry gravitated toward music as opposed
to football. He was a natural for the high school band and became a
drummer. He loved it then and throughout his life. One of the best
Christmas gifts Lou Ellen gave him was a set of black Pearl drums. He was
very emotional when he opened all the boxes. Little did Lou Ellen know,
but he had never had a matching set! He was thrilled! Coming of age in the
darkness of the "Jim Crow" era was an experience he believed shaped his
entire professional career. After graduating from John Rundle High school,
Larry enrolled at Delta State College which he attended for only one
semester. He and his swing band, "the Debonaires" played numerous gigs
at the Cleveland Country Club while he was enrolled at Delta State. Some
ended later than the dorm curfew time. He missed the curfew time a
couple of times. After the third violation of the curfew, the Dean met him
and told him "they didn't need people like him and he needed to find
somewhere else to go". Larry was truly just trying to pay his way through
school; he wasn't even drinking at the gigs they played! Nevertheless, Larry
then enrolled at the University of Mississippi until he graduated in June of
1965 with a degree in Accounting. His first adult position was with
International Paper Company in Mobile, Alabama, as a division-level
Accountant. However, he soon realized that accounting was not to be his
chosen occupation. Instead, Larry entered the University of Mississippi
Law School in August of 1967, graduating second in his class in August of
1969. His graduation was only a few days before hurricane Camille hit the
Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Larry was proud of his record in Law School. He maintained the 2 nd highest
grade in his class. He was asked to serve on the staff of the Mississippi
Law Journal. He served as Special Projects Editor in 1968, as Index and
Review Editor in 1969,- and as Assistant Editor in that same year. In
addition to receiving numerous class awards, he was invited to join Phi
Beta Phi, a scholastic achievement organization. He also received
numerous American Jurisprudence awards.
After a brief stint with one of Jackson's insurance defense firms, Larry first
had a shared office space and overhead. By the end of 1971, he was
established as a sole practitioner, a title he loved. From 1971 to 1982 the
practice was primarily for personal injury. In January 2000, he and Todd
Burwell formed the firm of Latham and Burwell. In April of 2009, he
withdrew from Latham & Burwell to focus on special litigation projects and
alternate dispute resolution. Larry was active in the Mississippi Trial
Lawyers Association, serving terms as Treasurer and President. He served
on numerous Mississippi State Bar Committees, including the Mississippi
State Bar Workers' Compensation Committee on two occasions. Also,
Larry was a Fellow in the Mississippi Bar Foundation, by invitation. Larry
was also a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, the
Mississippi Bar Association, and the Lamar Order.
In recognition of the quality of his legal skills, Martindale Hubbell published
an "AV" rating for Larry in 1988, and each year thereafter. The AV rating is
the highest rating that Martindale Hubbell awards to attorneys. The "Best
Lawyers in America", after a peer review, recognized Larry's work and, in
2022, named Larry as "Lawyer of the Year in Arbitrations" in the Mississippi
area. He continued to be named "Lawyer of the Year in Arbitrations" for
several years even after he retired.
Chambers USA designated Larry as a leading commercial litigator in
Mississippi in 2004 and several future years. Chambers commented on
Larry's 30 years of practice and recommended him as a very capable and
effective lawyer with commercial astuteness, a quick mind, and practicality.
In 2006, Chambers recognized Larry's practice change toward mediation
and his developing reputation as a mediator. In addition to his diverse
practice, Larry found time to present papers and lecture at numerous
seminars, as well as provide testimony as an expert witness in multiple
cases.
In the final sixteen years before retiring, Larry was focused on the
resolution of conflicts through mediation. To prepare for this shift, Larry first
completed a 40 hour course in mediation at Duke University, followed by a
course at Harvard Law School. Larry worked in Mediations and
Arbitrations in his home State of Mississippi and in Alabama, Louisiana and
Tennessee, completing more than 1750 mediations before his retirement in
2022. He was a founding member of the Mississippi Chapter of the
Association of Attorney Mediators. This is what he considered his best
work.
Offshore fishing was Larry's first number one recreation. Fishing in the
Chandeleur Islands, Breton Sound or the deep rigs out from Breton were
his favorite fishing grounds. The tales told about the Gulf are legendary.
Later in life, he was heard to say "I should have fished more". He has
asked that a portion of his cremains be spread on the waters off the point of
the Chandeleur Islands.
Coming in second place for outside activities was flying. Late in life, in
1998, he got his private pilot's license and later obtained an instrument
rating. His first airplane was a Cessna 172. Lou Ellen learned to fly this
plane and obtained her private pilot license. Larry enjoyed flying the 172
but it was not keeping up with the demands of his practice. He upgraded to
a Cessna 182T which was used in his practice. Lou Ellen got checked out
in the 182 as well. Flying was something that he and Lou Ellen enjoyed. His
son, Dan, owned L&M's restaurant in Oxford. If the weather allowed, Larry
and Lou Ellen would fly to Oxford on Sundays to have brunch at L&M's.
Flying into Chicago airspace was a bit nerve-racking. Many thanks to Ford
Day for being their pilot for several years, getting Larry home safely from
some late night mediations.
Larry's first child, Dan, was born in 1971. Larry took Dan on many off shore
fishing trips. When Dan was in college, Larry sponsored him on a summer
long tip to Europe. His second child, Ellen Rainey, was born in 1975.
When Rainey was wrapping up her time at SCAD (Savannah College of Art
& Design, he offered her the same deal. She expressed little interest in a
European trip and suggested that she would prefer something else. She
decided on a year in Santa Fe. Larry agreed to pay her rent for twelve
months as she explored the art world in New Mexico. Larry and Rainey
loaded up a UHaul and made a cross-country trip to Santa Fe. In Larry's
words, "every father should have this type experience; get to know who
your child really is and what they care about". Larry did and would not
have missed it for the world.
Larry's favorite performer was Diana Krall; Larry and Lou Ellen saw her in
Houston, Texas and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as the Red Rocks
Amphitheatre in Colorado. The best trip they had was with their friends
Charles and Gigi Gibson flying the Islands in the Bahamas in the Gibsons'
Saratoga.
In 2019, Larry took acting classes and had a small part in the movie "Son of
a Gun". That led to a bigger part in "Texas Red". The best time he had on
a movie set was for the Amazon movie "The Burial". It was inspired by a
true case involving Jerry O'Keefe, a funeral home owner on the Mississippi
Gulf coast. Maggie Betts, the director, contacted Larry (thanks to Christy
Jones) to be the legal consultant because he was familiar with the case.
He enjoyed having lunch on set with Tommy Lee Jones. He really got to
know Alan Ruck, who played the true character of Mike Allred, who Larry
knew. Larry helped Alan portray Mike's mannerisms and helped him
understand a lot about the South. Alan had never been to New Orleans, so
Larry introduced him to Clancy's, his favorite restaurant. Larry and Alan
kept in touch with each other; they last talked in December.
Larry married the love of his life, Lou Ellen, on October 18, 2002 in her
beloved Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church, a historical church in
Madison, Mississippi. Larry started going to the Chapel occasionally, then
more and more. In 2023, he decided he wanted to go through the
Confirmation Class. When he was 80 years old, he became a confirmed
Episcopalian in May of 2023. Lou Ellen went to the classes with him to re-
affirm her faith.
While he was in the ER at UMMC on Thursday, February 13, he received
his last rites from the Chapel's Rector, Will Compton and the Associate
Rector, Tom Fanning, with Lou Ellen by Larry's side.
Larry is survived by his loyal and caring wife, Lou Ellen, his son Dan and
his wife Meredith and their children Sadie and Guy, and his daughter Ellen
Rainey and her husband Cooper Lucas.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, at the
historic Chapel of the Cross, 674 Mannsdale Road, Madison, Mississippi.
Visitation will begin at 12:30 in the Parish Hall. Burial will be in the Chapel
cemetery immediately following the service.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Chapel of the Cross, 674
Mannsdale Road, Madison MS 39110.