Obituaries

George Ritchie Latham Jr.

George Ritchie Latham Jr.

Orient resident George Ritchie Latham Jr. passed away in his home Nov. 15. He was 96. 

Born in East Williston Feb. 27, 1918, he was the only son of George and Elizabeth Edwards Latham. He attended high school at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, and later Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. where he met his future wife, Kathleen Leslie. They were married in May 1941.

Ritchie owned and operated Port Washington Lumber Company in Port Washington and was a long-term board member of the Roslyn Savings Bank. Upon retirement, he returned to Orient where he had spent summers all his life. He became a member of the Southold Town Planning Board, on which he served for many years. Everyone who knew him was a friend.

Ritchie was a well-loved local historian. He did quite a lot of traveling, but his heart was always
in Orient.

Ritchie is survived by his wife; his four children, David (Linda), Priscilla, James, and Zoë; his sister, Ann Bliss of Andover, Vt.; ten grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first son, George Ritchie III; his sisters Mary Louise Blank and Margaret Strachan; and one grandson, Joseph.

The family will receive visitors Friday, Nov. 21, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A church service will be held Saturday, Nov. 22, at 11 a.m. at Orient Congregational Church.

Memorial donations may be made to the Peconic Land Trust.

This is a paid notice.