Don as he preferred to be called, was the middle child of five children born to Luther and Della Latimer. Don was born in Stamford, Texas in 1937, but the family moved around quite a bit when Don was young and he spent most of his formative years in going between Albany and Lueders Texas.He graduated from Lueders High School in 1956 where he excelled in several sports.
After graduating high school, he joined the navy. The initial plan was to do one enlistment term and save up some money for college. However, he enjoyed his time in the Navy so much that he re-enlisted. The time in the Navy, allowed him to travel all over the world, visiting over 50 countries.
During his time in the Navy he also spent considerable time in San Diego, CA, Jacksonville, FL, Rota Spain, and Liberia Africa. He worked at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia from 1966 – 1968 and that is where he met his wife of 54 years Dolores Helene Cino. They were married in Liberia in 1968. Don’s next duty station was San Diego, CA. While in San Diego he was diagnose with Type 1 diabetes and received a medical discharge from the Navy.
Don and Dolores decided to stay in San Diego and raise a family there and where he lived for the next 54 years. Their son’s Andrew and Kris were both born is San Diego. After leaving the navy Don initially went to work as an electronics repair technician, but within a few years he had bought the business and for over 15 years ran a small electronics repair business. The business was bought out by Blockbuster Video and he worked there managing their repair department for several years.
He retired in the mid-1990s, but kept extremely busy with his passion for research. He devoted countless hours to researching and documenting the family tree and the history of the local communities he grew up in. He was also extremely active in planning and coordinating family, navy, and high school reunions. Despite being a Type 1 diabetic for over 50 years he led an extremely active and healthy life up to the last few months of his life.
Don is survived by his sons Kris Latimer, Andrew Latimer, daughter-in-law Janice Latimer, brother Ron Latimer, sister-in-law Joy Ice and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his wife of 54 years Dolores Latimer, his parent Luther and Della Latimer, his brother Duane Latimer, and Jerry Latimer, and his sister Billie Sue Offield.
A Celebration of Life for Donald will be held Saturday, October 7, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM with a reception to follow in the patio at The Chapel of the Roses at Glen Abbey Memorial Park and Mortuary, 3838 Bonita Road, Bonita, California 91902.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.glenabbeysandiego.net for the Latimer family.
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