Tokuko Katono Latham

Tokuko Katono Latham left us the evening of June 5, 2018, at the age of 87. She was lovingly surrounded by her family as she passed at HCH Hospice in New Port Richey. She had resided in the Tampa area since 2011; prior to that she lived for over 20 years in the Northern Virginia area, most recently Leesburg, VA.

Tokuko was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Edwin Dean Latham. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Latham Lofstrom and son-in-law Laurence Kirsh of Reston, VA; her son Earl Kent (Ken) Latham and daughter-in-law, Irina Frolova Latham of New Port Richey, FL; and her daughter Patsy Latham Andrews Margraf and son-in-law Ronald Margraf of Port Richey, VA. She is also survived by her four grandchildren, Kristina Lofstrom Pinnix and her husband Van Leonard Pinnix of Leesburg, VA; Johanna Luise Lofstrom and her husband Thomas Fischetti of Arlington, VA; Jessica Elizabeth Andrews, currently of Port Richey, FL, and John Aubrey Andrews, of Inverness, FL. She also is survived by her great-granddaughter, Remi Nicole Pinnix, 5 years old this month, of Leesburg, VA, and her loyal, ever-present companion, Lola, a Yorkshire Terrier.

She was originally from Sendai, Japan, but left there to come to Tacoma, Washington, as the wife of a young US Army soldier, Edwin Dean Latham in the mid-1950s. Tokuko became an American citizen shortly after, and considered the United States her home for the remainder of her life. As the dependent spouse of a career US Army Sergeant Major, she raised three children and set up housekeeping in several states and overseas assignments as his orders dictated. Some of these stations include multiple tours to Camp Kue/Ft. Buckner, Okinawa and Akizuki/Iwakuni, Japan, as well as Tacoma, WA; Chambersburg, PA; San Antonio, TX; Huntsville, AL; Moline, IL; and Honolulu, HI. At each place, she artfully set up a safe and comfortable home for her family.

There will be a private viewing at Veterans Funeral Care, Clearwater, FL, on Tuesday, June 12, followed by interment at Sarasota National Cemetery with a brief Shinto and Buddhist service. She will be buried with her husband and they will share a headstone with sentiments for each on opposite sides.

Tokuko Latham, known as Koko, Mom, Grandma, and Gigi, loved her family with a fierce loyalty and passion. She always had food and a smile ready for anyone who entered her home. She was kind and funny, an amazing cook, a gracious host, superior problem-solver, expert seamstress, avid gardener, and animal lover. We, her family, are left with her legacy to keep her family together by continuing to gather to break bread, share laughs and tell the old stories.

We would like to thank the staff at HPH Hospice, New Port Richey, for tenderly caring for our mother in her final few days there. The calm, personalized attention, and warmth you provided in the bright and comfortable space, made it so much easier for us to just be there with her as she moved closer to her final breath.