Dennis Latta Obituary

-Written by TA Trujillo

Dennis Latta, 75, a renown New Mexico sports journalist, died peacefully on June 16 in Lake Wales, Fla.

Born Feb. 2, 1948 in Staunton, Va., he was the son of Robert and Dorris Latta.

Dennis was a sports writer and sports editor in a storied career that spanned several decades in Virginia, Florida and New Mexico.

He was a graduate of Robert E. Lee High School, Stunton, Va., and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), in Richmond, Va.

Dennis is survived by his loving better half, Patt Patrick, his children Katherine (Nigel) Robinson and Maggie (Alex) Yocom-Piatt, and grandchildren Kai, Leilani, Oscar, Matilda,  Mike and Garrett Skolyak-Homer, and nephew, Keith Latta.

He is preceded in death by his parents, and his brother, Clifford Lawrence Latta.

Dennis said growing up in Staunton was like growing up in a Norman Rockwell painting. He also said his parents had at least one good son – his brother.

Dennis was an U.S. Army veteran, drafted in 1970, and stationed in Osan, South Korea.

He began his journalism career while at VCU, and continued it by writing for Stars and Stripes while in the Army. Dennis said that being a sports writer for newspapers was a hobby that he was lucky enough to get paid for. He had journalism stops at the Bradenton-Herald (Fla.), Florida Times-Union, and Roanoke Times (Va.), before settling in at the Albuquerque Journal. His first byline, “NM Signs 2 Players in Basketball,” was published on Aug. 29, 1980. His final byline, “No Relief In Sight: ‘Topes Lose,” was published on Aug. 7, 2004.

After 24 years as sports reporter and sports editor at the Albuquerque Journal, Dennis was appointed Executive Director of the New Mexico Sports Authority by then-Gov. Bill Richardson. In 2006, he was prominent in creating the New Mexico Bowl, a nationally-televised postseason college football game that showcases the state, and has become a New Mexico winter tradition.

In 2013, Dennis left Albuquerque for Florida, fairways and greens. He regularly reminded the rest of his golfing friends, after a bad shot, not to take the sport too seriously: “that’s alright; the tournament starts tomorrow.”

Latta was loved and respected by many family and friends, with many sharing past treasured and favorite memories of the man that was primarily known by his last name.

He shared some of his own memories with his family, primarily remembrances of writing for the Journal:

“Few people understood how tough our jobs were. We had three deadlines every night. I was able to write a paragraph a minute, making me our best deadline writer. I also could put out three stories a day. But the toughest part was the criticism both from our management who didn't have a clue and from readers.

“I remember one guy from down in Los Lunas who used to write me letters before the advent of emails and texting. ‘DEAR WALRUS FACE; I SEE YOU (expletive deleted) IT UP AGAIN. IT'D HELP IF YOU HAD A CLUE ABOUT BASKETBALL.’ I'd always put his letters on the wall for everyone to see.

“Once I wrote a column that a coach wasn't getting the job done and should be fired. I went to a game in The Pit several days later and was walking around and there were some women asking people to sign a petition. I asked what it was for and they said in support of the coach, and to get Dennis Latta fired. I signed it. He was fired and I was securely there. People really didn't really mess with me."

Memorial services are planned for October in Florida, exact date TBA.

In lieu of any flowers, please contribute to the American Association for Cancer Research: https://donate.aacr.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=507&referrer=aacr-org-cta-bar.