Linda Latham

Linda Joan Latham died on August 16, 2020 in the presence of her daughter Valerie Latham at Rosemark at Mayfair Park, a memory care facility in Denver, Colorado.

She was born October 17, 1939 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Joan is preceded in death by her parents Jack Brown and Clora Fluitt Smith, her son Lance Latham, and her former spouse Johnny Latham.

She is survived by children Valerie Latham, Cindy Latham, Renee Latham, Mark Latham and his wife Vickie Latham, their children and grandchildren; brother Lyle Brown and sister Jackie Bradley and her husband Dave Bradley. She is also survived by her Sister’s-in-law, LaJean Henry and Rita Kerley, nieces and nephews Melissa Henry, Sandy Maxwell, Dave Gore, and Jennifer Turney and their spouses and children.

Joan Latham was a beautiful and accomplished woman.

She was a longtime resident of Hereford, Texas, her beloved hometown. She was an elementary school teacher with the HISD from 1972 –2002 and loved teaching. It had always been her desire to be a teacher and she was a good one. Her former students would frequently share with her how much they enjoyed her class and let her know that she had a positive impact in their lives and helped them to believe in themselves and their abilities.

She fostered a deep love and appreciation of the arts and culture in her own children as well, stretching her finances to insure her children had access to music, dance and painting lessons and more often than not spending her free time shuttling them to and from those appointments. She shared her own musical gifts with her students in the classroom, in special music programs, and as a piano accompanist.

Joan was one of the first baton twirlers at West Texas State University after having wowed her high school classmates twirling fire batons. She loved to dance and could be the life of the party when she chose to be. She made a point of always having a smile on her face and was open and welcoming to others while at the same time she was a deeply sensitive person and as such, she often kept to herself and had just a few close friendships at any given time. If you were lucky enough to be one of these people you knew her to be a loyal and caring friend. She had a mischievous side reserved for those closest to her that often came out in her dry sense of humor.

Her determination and sense of purpose made it possible for her to receive her bachelor’s degree, become a successful teacher, manage household and horse-farm accounts all while raising her family and being there for her own parents and siblings when they needed her. These same wonderful qualities could also manifest as stubbornness and passive aggressive behavior. She could be a worthy and unwelcomed adversary on occasion.

As a teacher Joan had some free time most summers and she usually filled those days up with her hobbies of walking, yard work, avid reading, and enjoying sports. She enjoyed keeping the score card as a spectator of little league just as much as seeing a major league game on TV. She was also not shy about helping her children keep their skills sharp with a game of catch or a coaching session. She loved the Dallas Cowboys, figure skating, and was especially fond of Tiger Woods.

Holidays would have felt incomplete without singing along while watching her favorite musical "The Sound of Music," or enjoying one of her famous chocolate pies. She belonged to Eastern Star for a brief time, was a band booster, former drum major and so much more but ultimately, she was a mother.

Her biggest joy and meaning came from motherhood. She gave everything that she had to her kids and inspired them in every way she could imagine. She bravely left the comfort of the familiar at age 74 to move to Denver, where her daughters lived so that they would be better able to care for her in her declining years. Her children were always at the front of the line in her life and she did all that she could to give them what they needed and to help them develop into the best people they could be. Her children always knew they were loved. Valerie sums up a love like that by remembering, "she even ate an entire loaf of Miracle Whip and Wonder Bread sandwiches" to encourage a budding 3-year-old chef.

She was loved, is loved and will forever be loved.