Daniel Walter Latham

Latham, Daniel W. Age 76, of Edina, passed away at home on Thanksgiving Day Nov. 28 peacefully holding the hand of his loving wife, Dianne Plunkett Latham after a brave six-year struggle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). He was preceded in death by his parents Walter W. Latham and Ruth M. (nee Christopherson). Dan received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1970. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany in 1971 and 1972. After the military he worked as an engineer for Larson Boats then as an engineer for Medtronic. He graduated from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management in 1978 and received a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1980. After law school he worked for Quaker Oats in Chicago as a Patent Attorney. He then worked for Medtronic in Minneapolis. He met Dianne, a fellow Patent Attorney, while working at Medtronic and they married in the Fort Snelling Chapel on Aug. 21, 1998. He was a member of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association. He retired from the Medtronic Patent Department as a Patent Counsel in April 2004. An avid genealogist, he joined the Alden Kindred of America. Both he and Dianne were descendants of John Alden of the Mayflower, making them 10th cousins. He also joined the Mayflower Society and the Sons of the American Revolution. Fascinated by genetic genealogy he served as a volunteer DNA Administrator for the Latham surname group for ftDNA, a consumer DNA service. He also served as Secretary and President of the Edina Historical Society. He enjoyed gardening and took great pride in his espalier of five Honeycrisp apple trees. He especially enjoyed travel, with he and Dianne taking many photographs as they visited all continents except Antarctica. He also enjoyed cycling, X-country skiing, hiking and snow shoeing. He had a great love of electronics and filled his home with every device imaginable and especially those which would ease his ALS journey. Dan was a man of the finest character, exceptionally hard-working and was truly a man of his word. Born in Minneapolis on Sept. 6, 1948, he was raised in Richfield where he graduated from Richfield High School in 1966. He is survived by his wife Dianne, brother Mark Latham (Debra), niece Megan Norman (Tom) and nephew Tyler Latham. Visitation will be Friday, Dec. 6 at 10:00 AM in the Washburn-McReavy funeral home at 5000 W. 50th at Hwy 100 in Edina. The service will be at 11:00 AM in the chapel followed by a buffet lunch in their recreation room. The internment will be at 2:00 PM at Lakewood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the ALS Association (https://www.als.org EIN: 13-3271855).

Tributes

Daniel Walter Latham

September 6, 1948 - November 28, 2024

Tributes

Daniel Walter Latham

September 6, 1948 - November 28, 2024

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