On Jan. 31, 2022, Laurence Latta Jr. of Portola Valley, California and Boothbay, Maine passed easily and peacefully at his California home, at age 85. He is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Catherine Evans Latta, whom he met ice-skating while both were students at Cornell University. He is also survived by his daughter, Chris, son-in-law Kermit Claytor, and granddaughters, Katherine, Emma, and Lauren Claytor.

Larry was born in Wyandotte, Michigan, June 13, 1936, and was especially close to his mother, Helen. Helen later re-married to John Devlin, of Massachusetts, with whom Larry also had a long and loving relationship.

Larry obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, and an MBA in finance, from Cornell University. He was an entrepreneur, who built successful business interests throughout the Middle East during the 1960s and 1970s. He held three United States patents for petro-chemical compounds that greatly simplified construction processes in that arid region. A 14-year expatriate resident of Cairo, Egypt, and Beirut, Lebanon, Larry returned to the United States with his family in 1976, splitting his time between California and Maine. He continued to pursue his overseas business interests while launching a second career working for himself and a European-based family office as a highly-successful economist and investor. As an economist, his quarterly and annual U.S. and international forecasts were astoundingly accurate. Larry was an early adopter of using hedge funds and alternative investment vehicles. In the 1980s, he became a pioneer of the “fund of funds” concept of hedge fund investing. He remained active in hedge fund investing after retiring in 2010.

Larry was an active sportsman. He had a lifelong love of skiing. On the Cornell ski team, he was a ski jumper and cross-country skier. He and Cathy enjoyed many ski trips throughout the U.S. and Europe. He loved playing tennis, and was a member of the Alpine Hills Tennis and Swimming Club in Portola Valley, the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club tennis program, and of the Boothbay Harbor Country Club. Larry especially loved sailing, and was a decades-long member of the BHYC. As an avid sailor, he and his wife, Cathy, cruised the coast of Maine aboard their yacht Allegro. Their sailing adventures also included San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay, various ports on the East and West coasts, and throughout the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas. Larry held a black belt in karate. Late in life he took up kick boxing, working with individual trainers both in California and in Maine.

Larry was a highly accomplished musician, having taken up the piano at a young age. He played in many styles, such as jazz, and standards, but his favorite style was classical piano, especially Chopin. He played in many informal groups with friends, and often entertained his party guests for hours with his virtuosity and talent.

Those close to Larry will particularly remember him as a gentle natured man with ingenious humor. The world has lost a true gentleman, and a kind soul.

Memorial plans for both the East and West coasts are pending. His family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to one of the following organizations dear to his heart:

The DaPonte String Quartet, https://daponte.org/support/

The Stanford Movement Disorder Center, https://give.stanford.edu/stanford-medicine/?olc=06421

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate