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.