Edward Webb Latham passed away peacefully in the home in which he was born on July 25, 2014 surrounded by his loving family. He was born June 6, 1922 on the kitchen table (he always claimed) at Latham Farms in Orient.
His early years were spent torturing his older sisters Eleanor, Blanche and Katharine. Upon his father’s (Daniel Terry Latham) death in 1944, he and his mother (Grace Young) jointly operated the farm until her death in 1948. During those years the farm was recovering from the devastating salt water incursions from the hurricanes of 1938 and 1944. From that time until his retirement at age 71 in 1993 he worked the farm every day for 49 years.
He was a transformative farmer on Long Island in the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. After the Great Depression and WW II most farmers were stuck on the old ways which meant potatoes, cabbages, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts. The dependence on these crops alone spelled doom for East End farms. Ed led the way in diversifying to more profitable crops: string beans, cucumbers, sweet corn. Rather than go to market with his produce Ed made deals with Boston supermarket chains which regularly sent trailers to haul his superior produce to New England markets.
In the late 60’s he lead the way into more perishable crops like strawberries (for which his farm is still well known), lettuce, melons and tomatoes. He was the first local farmer to branch out into the farm stand business which has mushroomed in recent years.
Latham Farms was designated a Century Farm in 1975 by the New York State Agricultural Society in recognition of the farm’s being operated by the same family for over 100 years beginning in 1806. Latham Farms is now operated by Ed’s son Daniel and wife Patti Lee and has two farm stand locations in Orient and Greenport in addition to supplying produce to several specialty produce wholesalers. It has also expanded into a major supplier of fresh flowers on the East End. Ed was exceptionally proud of Dan and Pat’s dedication and success.
Even with his schedule of seven day work weeks for nine months per year Ed found time to become active within his local community. He was elected to the Orient School Board in 1955 and was elected President in 1958. He remained in this position until 1983. Under his leadership the school district consolidated with East Marion to become Oysterponds School. The current school was built in 1966 and the large ball field acquired soon after, all under Ed’s direction and leadership.
Ed served a stint as Trustee of Eastern Long island Hospital in the 1960’s. He was a leader of the Long Island Farm Bureau in the 1950s. He joined the Orient Fire Department in the 1940s and was a Life Member. He was also a member of both the Orient and the Chinese Yacht Clubs. In recent years he rarely missed a meeting of the Southold Rotary Club where he was the last surviving member of the “old boys” club.
After retiring from farming Helen inspired and encouraged Ed to travel to more than thirty countries, most by cruise ships. His last trip was on the new Queen Mary 2 in 2012 where he was not surprised to be served Latham Farms heirloom tomatoes in the Grill Class Dining Room.
Ed and Helen spent part of the winter in Florida and most of the year in Orient on the farm so Ed could watch the crops grow, mow his lawn, and tend the Latham Family Cemetery. Ed loved to clam in a secret spot in Hallocks Bay and was known to pursue the elusive striped bass. He developed a remarkable skill at Scrabble although Helen maintains he cheated.
He is survived by his wife of 22 years Helen (Fitzpatrick) Latham, his son Daniel Terry Latham (Patti Lee) all of Orient, daughter Patricia Gray (George) of Rochester, grandsons Michael Mc Clelland (Colleen) of Sacramento and Peter Gray of New York, granddaughters Kristin Claire (Jeffrey) of Portland, Oregon, Stacie Thompson (Adam) of Middletown CT, Erin Stanton (Ashton) of Northampton NH, his sister Elinor Williams (Ralph) of Orient, seven great grandchildren and five nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his first wife Ann Newman Latham, his eldest daughter Susan McClelland and his sisters Blanche (Edward) Clingen and Katharine (John) Leslie.
The family will receive friends on Thursday, July 31 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes in Southold.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, August 1 at 10:30 a.m. at the Orient Congregational Church. Reverend Ann VanCleef will officiate.
Interment will follow at the Orient Point Cemetery (Latham Family Cemetery) in Orient Point.
